


Complications of the Male Persuasion

by paintedbluerose



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ba Sing Se, Bisexual Zuko (Avatar), Character Development, Internalized Homophobia, Iroh (Avatar) is a Good Uncle, Iroh is very supportive, Jet (Avatar) Lives, Jet has Character Growth, M/M, Zuko Joins The Gaang Early (Avatar), Zuko has Character Growth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-06
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:55:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27420817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paintedbluerose/pseuds/paintedbluerose
Summary: Jet asks Zuko to join the Freedom Fighters a different way, surprising Zuko. It starts a different chain of events that change everything and nothing. But mostly changes Zuko.Or: Jet lives, Zuko joins gaang early, and a lot more Jetko.
Relationships: Aang & Katara & Sokka & Toph, Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Jet & Smellerbee (Avatar), Jet & The Gaang (Avatar), Jet/Zuko (Avatar), The Gaang & Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 150
Kudos: 407





	1. I Want (to Kiss) You

**Author's Note:**

> So I’m not much of a Jetko fan but this little idea came to me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Do I have other stories to work on? Yes I do. Am I procrastinating? Possibly.
> 
> I was going to do a much longer chapter but decided to focus just on Zuko’s feelings about things. It wasn’t going to be a chapter thing but I wanted to add more and decided to just break things up and have chapters.
> 
> Warning for internal homophobia in this chapter. Zuko doesn’t feel like he should like men because of where he grew up and it’s illegal. He’s going to have a few of those feelings throughout this.

Jet knew as soon as he saw him, he had to get to know him. He was gorgeous. Attractive. The scar only increased the desire, gave him a sort of aloofness about him. When Jet invited him to steal food, he was even more intrigued. The way he moved, the way he used his swords-Jet wanted to get to know him.

After dinner, Jet pulled Lee aside. “Do you know what you’ll be doing when you get to Ba Sing Se?”

Lee shrugged. “I think my Uncle might have a job for us through some friends.”

“You should join the Freedom Fighters. Our little group. I think you’d be a perfect fit.”

“I don’t think you’ll want me in your group.” Lee looked away.

“Of course I do.” Jet grabbed Lee’s chin and turned him to face Lee. Once Jet saw those golden eyes, he made his decision. Before Lee could blink or protest, Jet leaned in to kiss him. It was supposed to be a quick peck but once Jet started, he didn’t want to stop. He put his desire into that kiss. He wanted Lee, not just in his group, but for himself. Before Jet got too carried away, he broke the kiss. “I want you.” 

Jet walked away and let it all sink in for Lee. He looked back and saw the blush still on his cheeks and Lee blinking in shock. Once they were all in Ba Sing Se, he would check in on Lee. Let it all sink in. Lee would change his mind.

~~~~

It took a long time before Zuko walked back to his Uncle. Much longer than Zuko would have liked. Sure he expected Jet to join him in his odd group, but he didn’t expect Jet to kiss him. If they were in the Fire Nation, they would be arrested. They weren’t though. They were in the Earth Kingdom. Where it was more acceptable.

Zuko couldn’t lie, he liked the kiss. That’s why he didn’t stop Jet and even kissed back. Zuko wasn’t gay-he _wasn’t_ -but kissing Jet made his heart race. Zuko had kissed girls before (mostly Mai) and he enjoyed those kisses. But Jet... Jet was something else. Something fun. Something desirable.

“I’m in trouble.” Zuko mumbled to himself. 

After he calmed down, he went back to where he and his Uncle were staying for the night. As he walked, he noticed where Jet was. Their eyes met and Jet gave Zuko a smirk which made Zuko blush all over again. 

“Nephew? You were gone a while. Are you okay? Are you blushing?”

Why couldn’t his Uncle leave him alone? Why did he have to be so observant? “I’m fine!” Zuko squeaked in a very not fine way.

“Are you sure? You don’t sound fine.”

Zuko buried himself in the blankets he didn’t need and turned away from his Uncle. “I’m fine. Honest. Just tired. I’m going to rest.”

“Okay.” Iroh patted Zuko’s back. “Get some rest. Just know I love you, no matter what. Nothing you do or feel could change that.”

Zuko wondered if his Uncle knew about what happened, what Zuko felt. It was shameful. He shouldn’t like kissing boys. He shouldn’t have feelings for boys. Oh...

He felt _something_. He _felt_ something. This wasn’t good. Maybe his father was right saying he was worthless. A normal person, a _normal_ Prince wouldn’t feel things for someone of the same sex. It wasn’t right. _He_ wasn’t right.

But then Uncle said... Uncle said no matter what he would love Zuko. Did that mean if Zuko wasn’t right?

“Uncle...” Zuko whispered. “Did you mean it when you said you’d love me no matter what?”

“Of course my nephew.”

“What if...” Zuko didn’t want to ask but he couldn’t stand going to sleep not knowing. “What if I felt something wrong? What if I liked boys?”

“Nothing you feel is wrong.” Uncle hugged Zuko and he had to bit his cheek to not cry. “All I ask is that you invite him for tea.”

“What if he doesn’t like tea?”

“Then you won’t date him.”

“Uncle!” Zuko was asking about liking boys, not dating them! Though, it seem like those would go together.

“It’s bad enough my nephew doesn’t care for tea. I’m not having anyone you date not like tea. That’s all I ask.”

Zuko wondered if Jet liked tea. Then realized what he was thinking. Did Zuko like Jet? Did he want to see Jet again? “Thank you Uncle.”

Zuko felt happier after his conversation. He was glad he spoke up and didn’t wait. If he waited, he would never have the confidence to say anything to his Uncle. When he slept, he dreamed of a young man with hook swords. 

~~~~

Iroh was not stupid. He knew Zuko had an attraction more towards males than females, even if Zuko didn’t realize it. Iroh saw the way his eyes lingered more on certain people. Sure, his Nephew had kissed a few girls too but they didn’t make Zuko stop in his tracks. After Zuko’s childhood, he no doubt would feel he was wrong for feeling a certain way and no doubt suppressed certain feelings.

Iroh noticed Jet and Zuko leave together. He saw Jet’s smile when he came back. He saw how his Nephew took longer to come back. How he looked at Jet and blushed. Jet must have kissed Zuko. (There wasn’t enough time for much else, Iroh knew. Not that he suspected Jet of doing anything improper.) Iroh felt a spark of hope. Perhaps Zuko was realizing what was wrong with the Fire Nation.

When Zuko asked about boys, Iroh felt his heart swell. He was honest in everything he told Zuko, that it didn’t matter who he liked. Well, mostly honest. If he brought home someone who didn’t like tea, Iroh would still be okay with it. As long as they made Zuko happy, he would be happy. Even if they didn’t like tea. 

Iroh watched Zuko sleep and noticed a brief smile for the first time in a long time. “I’ll support you no matter what, my boy.” Iroh whispered as he ran his fingers through Zuko’s hair. “No matter what.” 


	2. What If He’s Wrong?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet tries to look for Zuko. Zuko and Iroh talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I normally would not post chapters so quick. Please don’t get used to that. 😂 It’s also shorter than I wanted and not everything I wanted. However, I feel it touches on more. It’s more conversations that are needed.  
> Also, it’s a bit hard getting into Jet’s head. When I write him, it’s usually as a dick but I want him to have character growth here. The Jetko is not going to be mean or where Jet is evil or something. 
> 
> Warning for some more internal homophobia going on. Not as much this chapter as previous but Zuko still got some issues. One conversation with Iroh is not going to solve a lifetime of problems. If that was the case, Iroh could have told him don’t go after the Avatar first thing and Zuko would have agreed to it.

Jet tried to talk to Lee the next day. Every time he saw the boy, he disappeared a moment later. Jet tried to find Lee on the ship, at check in, and waiting for the entry train to Ba Sing Se. Jet would see Lee, see his scar, blink and he was gone. It was like he never existed.

“Calm down Jet. You’re gonna make a scene.” Smellerbee said.

“What makes you think I’m not calm?”

“Really? Whenever you see Lee you get excited. And before you say anything, I can tell when you see Lee. You have that goofy grin on your face and you look like you’re going to explode. The happier version of you finding a firebender.”

“I do not!” Jet rolled his eyes. Longshot gave him a look, doubting his statement. “Okay, fine, maybe I’m looking for him. I just think he would be good for the group.”

“You want to kiss him again, don’t you?”

“‘Bee, this is not about me. I thought he was good with us. The Freedom Fighters could use someone like him.” 

“I thought we were going to be good. No more Freedom Fighters.”

“We can still have a Freedom Fighter group. We’ll just help those in need. There will be plenty of those in Ba Sing Se, I’m sure. We’ll be on the straight path from now on.”

“You may not be on the straight path...” Smellerbee mumbled. Jet heard it but pretend he didn’t. He wasn’t ready to confirm or deny it. Sure, he knew he liked both boys and girls, nothing wrong with that. He just met Lee and knew almost nothing about him. Jet knew they were worried about him because none of them knew Lee. He could be some criminal! 

“Once we’re in Ba Sing Se, let’s find Lee and talk to him then. He might surprise us.”

“Fine. But don’t do anything rash or stupid.”

Jet nodded. He purposely had not looked at Longshot during the conversation to not see his expression. Jet knew what Longshot was going to say, ‘Bee said most of it already. He needed to be careful. He needed to not rush into things. He got it. But whenever Jet closed his eyes, he saw Lee’s golden eyes. So Jet had a thing for eyes. He fell hard seeing beautiful eyes. First Katara, now Lee. But those eyes...those golden eyes...Jet would do anything for Lee. Lee was going to be the death of Jet.

~~~~

Zuko felt better after a night’s rest. He still wasn’t sure he should feel the things he felt. At least he had his Uncle’s support. And he admitted to Uncle he liked boys. That was a big step for him. If it had been his Father...

The more Zuko thought of it, the more he feared what his Father would do. His Father would not be supportive like Uncle was. If his Father burned him for speaking up, what would he do for kissing a boy? Maybe Zuko was wrong. Maybe Zuko shouldn’t feel the way he felt.

But Uncle... Uncle said...

What if he was wrong?

No. He couldn’t be.

But what if...?

“Nephew?” Uncle said, interrupting Zuko’s thoughts. “Is everything okay?”

“I think so. I don’t know.” He hesitated. “You are... but... Father...” He took a deep breath and focused. He needed to get his words together properly. “Father wouldn’t agree with you. About last night.”

“No he would not.”

“The Firelord’s word is law.”

“It’s how we were raised, yes.”

“Then... then am I wrong for not agreeing with the Firelord?”

“Not everything the Firelord says is correct. A leader can make mistakes. I do not agree with everything the Firelord says and does.”

“But... but that’s _wrong_! It’s supposed to be wrong!”

“Remember the Northern Water Tribe? Zhao killed the Moon Spirit. No doubt encouraged by the Firelord. Do you think it’s right to kill a spirit?”

“No! That was stupid! Everyone needs the moon.”

“If the Firelord encouraged Zhao to kill the Moon Spirit, and it was wrong, does that mean the Firelord was right? Or wrong?”

“It was wrong. The... the Firelord was wrong.” Zuko whispered, as if Ozai was going to hear Zuko speak.

“If he’s wrong about the spirits, could he be wrong about other things?”

Zuko couldn’t speak the words out loud. Instead, he gave a brief nod in agreement. It still hurt to do. It hurt to say his Father was wrong. It hurt because Zuko had been hurt so many times for not being good enough and he knew that was wrong but _his Father_ , the _Firelord_ , said the punishment was fair. If his Father was wrong, then the punishment wasn’t fair. If his Father was wrong, then banishment was wrong. If Father was wrong, then all the burns were wrong, his burned face was wrong. It was not the will of Agni. It was not what was right.

~~~~

Iroh saw the nod from Zuko and felt a glimmer of hope. If Zuko could realize Ozai was wrong, he could be opened to so much more. He could choose good.

“I know it’s a lot to take in Nephew. I want you to know I support you. No matter what you choose in life.” Iroh smiled at Zuko.

“Thank you Uncle.”


	3. I Like It When You Kiss Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet and Zuko spend more time together. Talking. Kissing. Iroh has never been so happy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We got some making out and character growth y’all! This fic makes me happy so I’m writing it more so than my others right now. I really shouldn’t but oh well.

It took three days of searching to find Lee. Not that Jet was counting. Because he wasn’t. He wasn’t thinking about the boy with golden eyes. He wasn’t thinking about those soft lips or that shocked expression or the blush that crept up over his cheeks. Nope. 

He finally found Lee at a tea shop in the Lower Ring. It wasn’t too far from where Jet lived. It was in the middle of a rush and Jet stood outside a window, watching Lee run around. He wasn’t stalking or being a creep. He was simply waiting for the rush to die down enough to talk to Lee by himself. 

Once there was no one left, Jet snuck in and took a seat towards the back of the shop. He knew when Lee saw him as his eyes widened a little in recognition. Not that Jet was staring at his eyes.

“Jet, what I can get you?” Lee asked in a very customer service voice.

“I’ll start with some Jasmine tea but I’d like to end with a date.” Jet winked. The blush that started on Lee’s cheeks made Jet feel even more bold. “Maybe a few kisses as well.”

“Uh... well... uh...” Lee blinked. “I’ll go get that tea.”

Jet followed him towards the kitchen. He leaned by the door, watching Lee work. “What about that date Lee?” Jet asked and felt a little satisfaction in hearing Lee squeak in surprise.

“Lee, is this young man asking you on a date?” Lee’s Uncle asked with a grin.

“Uncle!” Lee’s face turned a bright shade of red and Jet thought it was adorable.

“I’d like to take your nephew out for a little bit. If that’s all right with you.” Jet said to Lee’s Uncle. He really needed to remember his name. 

“That would be perfect! Lee, why don’t you take the afternoon off and enjoy it with Jet?”

“But Uncle, what if you need me?”

“The afternoon is much slower. I’m pretty sure I can handle it. Unless you think your Uncle is too old?”

“No! I didn’t say that. I wanted to make sure you’ll be okay. If you are, I’ll go.” 

“Great! Let’s go!” Jet said before Lee could argue any more. He grabbed Lee’s hand and pulled him out the door. “Don’t worry, I’ll have him back by curfew!” Jet called out. 

~~~~

Zuko couldn’t stop his heart from racing. He was going on a date with Jet. Jet was holding his hand. He liked the way their hands fit together. He liked how Jet smiled and winked at him. A small voice in the back of his head told him he shouldn’t feel happy but he ignored that voice.

Jet and Zuko walked around the Lower Ring, looking at the shops. They stopped at a noodle shop for some lunch. The whole time, Zuko was afraid of someone coming to stop them, arrest them, of someone accusing him of being a firebender, of being wrong in more than one way. It didn’t stop him from smiling and blushing. And when Jet grabbed his hand to hold as they walked, he didn’t look to see if anyone was going to call them out on it. 

“You’re really pretty.” Jet said as they stood by the door to Zuko’s apartment, both avoiding saying goodbye.

“You don’t have to lie to me.” Zuko frowned. “I enjoyed today. No need to lie to make me want to go out again.”

“I’m not lying.” Jet ran his hand through Zuko’s hair. “I think you’re beautiful.”

“No one in their right mind can think that with this face.” Zuko pulled away, annoyed.

“Why? Because of your scar? I don’t care about it. I still think you’re beautiful.” Jet grabbed Zuko so he wouldn’t leave. “You’re amazing.” Jet kissed Zuko. “Beautiful.” Another kiss. “Gorgeous.” Another kiss. “Breathtaking.” Another kiss. “Captivating.” Another kiss. “I can’t get enough of you.”

“You... you really think I’m pretty?” Zuko blinked in shock. Part of him still thought Jet was lying. Part of him knew Jet couldn’t lie that well while kissing him. He would have been disgusted after a certain point.

“I do. I can’t stop staring at you. You and your eyes.” 

“My eyes? Oh...” Zuko looked away. His eyes were gold, a sure sign he was Fire Nation.

“They’re so beautiful. So intense.” Jet continued as of Zuko didn’t say anything. “I could get lost in those eyes.” Jet gave one final kiss. “I should go before I miss curfew. I’d like to see you again.”

“I’d like that too. Come by tomorrow in the afternoon. It’s slower and Uncle won’t mind if we talk in between customers.”

“I’ll see you then.”

Zuko waited until he couldn’t see Jet anymore before heading into the apartment building and to the apartment he shared with his Uncle. He hoped he would be able to sneak in without any questions from Uncle but he knew better. Uncle was sitting at their table with a pot of tea.

“Nephew! Come have some tea with me!” Uncle said in an overly happy voice that left no room to decline. 

“Uncle.” Zuko sat down. “You aren’t going to embarrass me in front of Jet are you?”

Uncle gave a big grin in response. “I simply want to know how your afternoon was.”

“It was nice. Jet is going to come by tomorrow again. Is that... is that okay?”

“I wonder if he would like a job at the tea shop. But then you two would have to focus on work and not each other while you work." 

"Uncle!"

"Perhaps I should ask him about work. And maybe his intentions for you.”

“Uncle!” Zuko stood up and stormed to his room. He slammed the door shut only to open it back up. “It would be nice to work with him.” He said before closing the door back up. 

As Zuko lay in bed, he traced his lips, remembering the taste of Jet hours earlier. He liked Jet kissing him. He didn’t mind telling his Uncle Jet kissed him. It was a whole new problem to be the one starting the kiss. He wanted to but his head still told him he was wrong.

~~~~

The one afternoon of Jet coming to spend time with Zuko soon became three. Iroh was happy his Nephew was able to enjoy himself. When Jet started working, he noticed a change in Zuko. A good change. He smiled more often. Iroh figured it had something to do with the breaks spent making out that Iroh pretended not to notice.

It was one of their breaks that the shop started to pick up in business and Iroh was looking for the both of them. He found them outside, sitting on the back steps. He was going to interrupt them but he hesitated. He saw Jet run his fingers through Zuko’s hair. Iroh wasn’t sure if he should interrupt or not when Jet started kissing Zuko. Zuko would be embarrassed if Iroh stepped in now.

“I really like you Lee.” Jet said once he broke from the kiss.

“I like you too.”

“Do you like kissing me?”

“I do.”

“You never seem to initiate the kiss.”

Zuko looked away. “I want to but I’m afraid. If my Father were here, he’d kill me for kissing you. I still hear his voice telling me I’m wrong.”

Iroh felt his heart break. Ozai still had so much control over Zuko even though they hadn’t spoken or seen each other in over three years. Zuko deserved so much more.

“Fire Nation.” Jet said.

“What...?”

“Your Father is Fire Nation, isn’t he? That’s why you’re nervous about us. That’s why you’re afraid. Fire Nation outlaws people like us.”

“What if he was Fire Nation?”

Jet shrugged. “If this was a week ago, I’d be upset and call you out. But I like you Lee. I’m trying to start over here. My friends are telling me I should start over. Part of me is still mad about you being part Fire Nation. The rest of me doesn’t care.”

Iroh watched as Zuko leaned over and kissed Jet. Iroh was so happy for his Nephew, he decided he could leave them alone for a while. Let them finish their break. He could handle the rush. Zuko was more important.


	4. It’s A Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh has the talk with Zuko. Zuko and Jet have a date together. Zuko is embarrassed. A lot. (Jet thinks that’s cute.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sure why, but I’ve been doing Jet, Zuko, Iroh POV. This chapter (and most likely next) does a reverse and Iroh is first. Why am I just focusing on these three? I don’t know. Why the order? I don’t know.
> 
> However, I did think more about this story and at first I was just going to have through Ba Sing Se (for some stupid reason just end there) but I’m going to the end! And yes, Zuko and Jet will be with the gang. I think three chapters after this one...?
> 
> Also maybe fudging timeline a bit.

Iroh watched his Nephew sweep. Or would be sweeping if he could stop staring at Jet. Iroh was pretty sure Zuko swept at the same spot for the past half hour with no real enthusiasm. He wasn’t even focused on the floor or the fact that his broom didn’t move much. 

Not that Jet was any better. He wiped the same spot on the table for just as long with the same enthusiasm. Not really cleaning but appearing to clean. If this was how the both of them were going to act, Iroh could clean the entire tea shop before they even moved from their spots.

He cleared his throat to get their attention and was a little satisfied seeing the both of them jump in surprise. “It seems you boys are both distracted.”

“Sorry Uncle.” Zuko bowed his head. “I didn’t mean to not pay attention.”

“Sorry Mushi. Your Nephew is very distracting.” Jet smirked.

“Jet!” Zuko exclaimed as his face turned a bright red.

Iroh chuckled. “Don’t worry. If I was in your place, I’d feel the same way. I think I can finish cleaning the store. You boys can go home.”

“Are you sure Uncle? We’re both off tomorrow. We can stay and help tonight so you’re not doing it all by yourself.”

“You’re off tomorrow to enjoy time together. That’s what young people need to do. Besides, with the way you two are cleaning, it’ll take all night for you two to finish one corner.”

“I can’t help it Mushi. I take one look at Lee and I’m lost in his eyes, wondering when I can kiss him again.”Jet said as he walked towards a blushing Zuko. “He’s very kissable.”

“Jet! This is my Uncle! He doesn’t need to hear that!” Zuko cried out.

“Ah, Nephew, it’s so nice I’m not the only one who can embarrass you.” Iroh took the broom from Zuko’s hands. “Now go, enjoy your evening. You still have a few hours before curfew.”

“Thank you Uncle.” Zuko smiled and gave Iroh a hug. 

Jet grabbed Zuko’s hand and pulled him out the door. Iroh stepped out the door and watched as they ran down the road, laughing as they ran. Iroh felt his heart ready to burst hearing Zuko’s laugh. It had been far too long since he heard that joyous sound. He hoped Jet would be good for Zuko. That he would help Zuko see what was wrong with the Fire Nation and Ozai. That it would be beneficial to join the Avatar and not hunt him. That nothing would make Ozai care for Zuko the way he deserved. 

That evening, Zuko still seemed to be in a daze as he arrived back home. Iroh noticed a few marks on Zuko that were clearly from Jet. Instead of focusing on that, he asked about Zuko’s evening. 

“It was nice.” Zuko sighed.

“Oh? And what did you do?”

“We walked around a little bit, grabbed a bit to eat, and checked out the fountains. Then we... we kissed for a little bit.” Zuko blushed and looked away, obviously hiding what else they were doing.

“I’m glad you had fun.” Iroh cleared his throat. “There is something I’d like to speak with you about.”

“Yes?” Zuko focused, no doubt alert to the seriousness of the conversation.

“When two people feel an attraction towards each other, sometimes they wish to move forward faster then they should. It’s in your best interest to be prepared and be safe.”

“Uncle...what...?”

“It’s very important that you don’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to. At the same time, if you feel certain... urges, you must protect yourself. There are precautions that a woman would take if she was to be with a man or woman. It’s the same if a man is with a man.”

“Wait. Uncle are... are you giving me the sex talk?!”

“Was that not clear?” Iroh blinked. Should he be more direct? Zuko did seem to be a little thick headed sometimes.

“Uncle! I don’t need the sex talk!”

“Is it because you’ve already had sex with Jet? Were you safe?”

“No! I haven’t had sex with Jet yet. We’ve just kissed.”

“Yet? So you want to have sex with him?”

“I don’t know! I’m still trying to be okay with openly kissing him without looking over my shoulder that someone will turn us in. Even if I did, I would not tell my Uncle I want to have sex with someone. This is embarrassing!” 

“You know I worry about you. I want you to be happy. If that means sex with Jet, then I want you to be safe.”

“I cannot believe we are having this conversation. Please Uncle, no more. I haven’t had sex, I don’t know if I’ll have sex with Jet but I promise we’ll be safe if we do. I refuse to talk about this anymore. Please.”

“Okay Nephew.” Iroh smiled. “I’m glad we had this talk. Goodnight.”

Zuko mumbled his goodnight and ran to his room. Once the door was closed, Zuko let out a small scream. Iroh chuckled to himself that he could see embarrass Zuko. Perhaps next time he should sit both Jet and Zuko down for the talk.

~~~~

Zuko was used to waking up with the sun. On his day off, the day he was going to spend with Jet, he woke up well before the sun, bursting with excitement. He was thankful he had years of practice sneaking around that he could get ready without disturbing anyone. Or seeing his Uncle and reliving another conversation. 

Once he was dressed and ready to go, he snuck out of their apartment, leaving a note he already left for his Uncle. The sun was just starting to come up as he was walking around. He grabbed some fruit and pastries for breakfast for both him and Jet and set out towards Jet’s apartment. Not that Jet actually showed or told Zuko where he lived. Zuko just happened to follow Jet one day. He wasn’t stalking. He was using his Blue Spirit skills to sneak around and find where Jet was. That wasn’t stalking. 

He hesitated outside for a few minutes before knocking. Smellerbee opened the door and let him in, rolling her eyes as she did.

“He’s in his room. Wait here and I’ll get him.” She pointed to the small table in the kitchen.

Zuko sat, waiting anxiously for Jet to come. He wasn’t sure what the other boy would say about Zuko showing up at his apartment. And his friends, Smellerbee and Longshot. What did they think of Zuko? Of Zuko and Jet?

“I’m impressed. You found where I live.” Jet said, breaking Zuko from his thoughts.

“Sorry about that. I followed you one night and...” Zuko shrugged.

“And decided to stalk me?” Jet smirked. Zuko felt a blush creeping up. “That’s hot.”

“You don’t mind that I did that?”

“I would have done the same thing.” Jet leaned down and kissed Zuko. Jet started to pull away too soon and Zuko brought his hands up to hold onto Jet. Zuko continued the kiss, pulling Jet closer to him. His lips tasted sweet like honey and Zuko wanted to devour them. Closer and closer Zuko pulled Jet until he was sitting on his lap. Zuko could feel Jet’s heartbeat and still Zuko felt it was not close enough. 

“Really?” Smellerbee interrupted. “You know we eat there.” 

Zuko and Jet broke apart from kissing and Zuko saw just how close they were. Jet sat on Zuko’s lap, leaving no room between them. Zuko’s hands somehow were underneath Jet’s tunic, on his chest. Jet was in the middle of pulling Zuko’s tunic off. The embarrassing sex talk with Uncle the previous night ran through Zuko’s mind and he pulled his hands away as his face turned a bright red. 

“Sorry.” Zuko mumbled. “I got carried away.”

“Next time, save it for the bedroom.”

Zuko yelped and practically pushed Jet off of him. “Um... I brought some food. Breakfast.” Zuko said, hoping to change the subject. “There’s enough for everyone.”

“That’s very nice of you Lee. Thank you.” Smellerbee said. Her tone and glare seemed to imply the opposite of gratitude but Zuko wasn’t going to complain.

“I thought you were breakfast.” Jet whispered in Zuko’s ear. If there was any way Zuko could turn any more red, he would have. Jet knew how to say and do things to make Zuko wish the ground would open up below him but at the same time, Zuko didn’t want Jet to stop.

Breakfast with them was awkward. Longshot would give them looks that Jet and Smellerbee understood but Zuko had no clue what they meant. Smellerbee glared at Zuko most of the time like she was trying to figure out his secrets. And Jet flirted with Zuko while being casual with his friends. Zuko wished he had the ability to be so natural with people. With friends. Of course, it would help if Zuko actually had friends. Or people around him that weren’t trying to kill him or were servants or weren’t Uncle. 

After breakfast, Jet and Zuko walked around the Lower Ring. They stumbled across a zoo which had recently gone through some upgrades. It was nice to relax and spend time together. It was nice to be able to hold hands and not be judged. It was nice to stop and kiss without someone yelling at them. It was nice to be with Jet.

~~~~

Jet was having a fantastic day. Of course, Jet thought anytime he was able to make Lee blush was a great day. He was adorable when he blushed.

The zoo was nice enough but Jet spent more time watching Lee. It was clear he loved animals. He was so happy and relaxed. Jet wished he could see Lee like that more often. He wondered what happened in Lee’s life to make him so distrustful and moody. 

After the zoo, they enjoyed a quick bite and ended up seeing a small play. It wasn’t major, as it was preformed in the streets. Jet saw the amazement and wonder in Lee’s eyes and knew two things: first was that Lee was a total theater nerd, and second was that Jet would do anything to see that look in his face. It didn’t matter to Lee that the space was small and the production was probably less than stellar. It was seeing the play performed, as he put it, correctly and with the right enthusiasm. Jet had no idea what any of that meant, but Lee was happy so he was happy.

Jet had one last idea planned after the play and was thankful the sun hadn’t set. They grabbed some dinner to go and Jet led them to a hill where they could picnic and watch the sunset. Seeing the smile in Lee’s face made everything worth it. Sure, Jet was going a little overboard making sure Lee was happy. Sure, Jet wasn’t normally into all of this. But Lee made Jet want to do more, be more.

“I’ve really enjoyed today.” Lee sighed.

“Me too. I’m glad your Uncle was able to give us the day off.” Jet leaned over to kiss Lee. “It means we can spend more time together.”

“I like that.”

Jet wanted to keep kissing but knew it was getting late. The sun was already set. If they didn’t leave soon, they’d miss curfew. Maybe a few more minutes? 

“Jet, I think we should head back.” Lee said, reading Jet’s mind and ruining the fun.

“We should.” Jet kissed Lee again. “We could just stay.”

“If I’m not home before curfew, my Uncle will worry. I can’t do that to him.”

That old man was going to cause Jet problems. “You’re right. I don’t want to get on his bad side. He may not let us go out anymore.”

The two of them walked back to Lee’s apartment where they shared a few more kisses. If it hadn’t been for Mushi interrupting them, reminding them of curfew, Jet would have kept going. As it was, he left Lee behind and headed back to his place with a smile on his face.

“Did you have fun with Lee?” Smellerbee asked when Jet arrived back home.

“I did. He’s really nice.”

“You’ve said that. Just be careful.”

“I am careful. Relax ‘Bee.”

_She’s worried about you_. Longshot glared. _We both are_.

“Worried? Why?”

“We don’t want to see you hurt.”

“Lee wouldn’t hurt me.”

“You said his father is Fire Nation. What if it’s more than just his father? What if he’s a firebender?”

“What does that matter?”

_ We know how you are. We know what Fire Nation did. How much you hate them. _

“We don’t want you to end up hating Lee.”

“Look, guys, I appreciate it. It’s fine though. We may be rushing things and he might be a bit reserved but it’s fine. It doesn’t mean he’s bad. Besides, we are starting over, right? The Avatar and his group said there’s good and bad everywhere. Maybe Lee is the good in the Fire Nation.”

“What if he is what you hate? How will you respond?”


	5. Dinner, Embarrassment, and Fight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More embarrassing Zuko. Date night dinner. And revelations.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uh... this will be rough at the end but please stay with me. It needs to happen.
> 
> Warning for sexual situations and discussions but nothing graphic. (Like I say they naked and that’s it.) I’m so not a good writer when it comes to all that. I used to be able to write passion and emotions. Now I’m just like they kiss!

Iroh and Zuko had noodles every day for the past week for dinner. Iroh didn’t mind except Zuko was learning to cook and some noodles were not the best. Iroh supported his Nephew no matter what but he wished he would try for something a bit easier to cook. At least Iroh had plenty of experience pretending he liked what Zuko made. Years of drinking what Zuko called tea prepared him for that.

Iroh also had a bit of fun with his Nephew as well. He thought it would be hilarious if he continued to give Zuko a sex talk since the previous week, only to speak in proverbs or to confuse Zuko. Sure, some things he said were wrong but that wasn’t the point. The goal was to embarrass Zuko, which he was very good at. There was even one time Iroh spoke with Jet and Zuko about how to please each other in which Zuko’s face became as red as his scar. Perhaps he was too graphic? 

“This are the best noodles so far Nephew!” Iroh smiled.

“You’ve said that every day Uncle. It should improve.” Zuko grumbled. He took a bite of his noodles and smiled. “I think you’re right Uncle. It is good.”

“I think you’re ready to make dinner for Jet.”

“What?! I never said it was for Jet. I just wanted to learn to cook!” Zuko turned red and looked away from Iroh-clear signs Zuko was lying.

“Is that what you’re claiming?” Iroh raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, fine.” Zuko sighed. “I want to make dinner for Jet.”

“That’s very nice Nephew. I’m glad you two are getting close.” Iroh placed his hand over Zuko’s. “If you know what night, I’m sure I can find a few people to play Pai Sho with for a few hours. I wouldn’t want to get in your way.”

“I don’t want to kick you out of the apartment.”

“No but I’m sure you don’t want me on your date either. Don’t worry. I would like to be able to play Pai Sho since my Nephew isn’t a fan of the game.” Iroh smirked. 

“In two days, if it’s possible, I’d like to make dinner. It’s an early night at the tea shop and it’ll give me time to buy what I need.”

“Perfect! Now, if you’d like I can-“

“Uncle, if you are going to talk about sex, please stop. At this rate, I think you’re just making stuff up. I did have an education at the Palace. And even if I didn’t, I spent almost three years at sea with a bunch of men with needs. I have learned everything I’ve ever needed to know from them. It’s embarrassing to hear you talk to me about sex. Please stop.”

Iroh frowned. His fun was over. Zuko figured it out and now Iroh couldn’t continue it anymore. “You’re no fun.”

Zuko rolled his eyes. “I’m not supposed to be fun. I’m banished.” He smirked. 

~~~~

Zuko was trying not to panic. He was trying to focus on cooking dinner all by himself but he was afraid he missed a step or two. Uncle helped him cook the past week and now that was making him second guess himself. It didn’t help that Jet leaned against the wall staring at Zuko. He knew Jet was staring without even looking at him. He could feel the eyes on him.

“It’s... uh... It won’t be too much longer. I think.” Zuko looked around at what he had cooked and what needed to be finished. A few finishing touches on the sauce and should be good. 

“It’s okay. I can wait. I like the view.” Jet walked up behind Zuko and wrapped his arms around Zuko’s waist. “Besides, I found myself a nice snack.”

“Jet!” Zuko cried out as he blushed. “That’s... I... I mean...”

“Did I make you forget your words?” Jet smirked.

“No.” Jet leaned over and placed a kiss on Zuko’s lips. “Maybe.” Another kiss and Zuko was forgetting what he was doing. Kissing Jet erased the world around them. How could a kiss feel so good? How could one boy feel so good? How- oh...something smelt like it was burning... “The sauce!” Zuko cried out, breaking from the kiss. He rushed around to finish dinner and just managed to prevent burning.

Dinner itself was quiet. Both Jet and Zuko focused on eating instead of talking (or kissing). The food was enjoyable. The company was perfect. It was the nerves that got Zuko. He wanted to talk to Jet but he was afraid. Afraid of what the boy would say or do. What if Jet didn’t like him after this? 

“You have a little sauce on you.” Jet pointed to Zuko’s face.

“Huh?”

“Sauce. On your face. Let me get it.” Jet reached over and instead of cleaning it off with his hands, he licked it off. Zuko froze, unsure of what to do. “It’s delicious.” Jet, still leaning close to Zuko, placed a kiss on his lips. “Just like you.”

Zuko melted. He grabbed Jet and pulled into another kiss. His hands ran under Jet’s tunic to feel his chest. Zuko needed to touch him, to be as close as he could to Jet. He needed to get out of these clothes.

“Are you sure Lee?” Jet asked as Zuko started to take off Jet’s tunic. “I don’t want to pressure you into anything you aren’t comfortable with.”

“I’m sure. I need to feel you. I want to touch you. Please.”

“Okay.”

With that, Jet’s tunic came off, soon followed by Zuko’s tunic. Zuko pulled Jet closer to Zuko’s room as they continued kissing and removing clothes. By the time they were both in his bedroom, they were naked with a trail of clothes behind them. There was no going back and Zuko was never more sure of anything else in his life.

~~~~

Jet and Lee laid next to each other in his bed, staring at each other. Lee ran his eyes all over Jet, like he was soaking him in. Jet ran his fingers through Lee’s hair. “What are you thinking about?”

“I don’t want to mess this up.” Lee frowned.

“How would you mess this up?” Jet thought things were great. After the past hour, they were fantastic.

“I... I need to tell you something. Promise you won’t get mad?”

“Why would I get mad at you?”

“What... what if I was a firebender?”

Jet widened his eyes. He knew that was a possibility with Lee being half Fire Nation. Not to mention, he seemed to run warm all the time. “Ashmaker!” Jet snarled. It was probably not his finest moment, but anger took over. “Your people killed my family!”

“No! I’m sorry! I didn’t! I’m not like that!” Lee shook his head.

“You’re an ashmaker! Are you even part Earth Kingdom? Or is that a lie?”

“I didn’t lie! You assumed it was just my Father who was Fire Nation. It’s not.”

“So you wait until we have sex to tell me? Is this some sick game to you? You think if you get me in bed, you take every part of me?” Jet felt tears in his eyes but he was not going to cry. Not over a boy. Not over a liar. He grabbed what clothes of his he could and tossed them on as quick as possible.

“That wasn’t planned! I wanted to talk to you. I’m Fire Nation but I didn’t attack your family nor try to attack you.”

“Save your lies for someone else, Lee. Is that even your name?”

“Not really. We’re refugees. We can’t go to the Fire Nation. We’re trying to start over here.” Lee stood in front of the door so Jet couldn’t leave.

“Move Lee.”

“I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you because I don’t want to lie. I like you Jet. A lot. I don’t want to mess this up.” He sighed. “Just... please, don’t take this out on my Uncle. If you’re mad, take it out on me. Blame me. Uncle doesn’t deserve anything bad. Please don’t hurt him.”

“Move.” Jet demanded. “I won’t ask again.”

“I’m sorry.” Lee turned to let Jet out. 

Jet stormed out the door and didn’t look back. He ran to his apartment, to his room, and shut the door. Smellerbee was right. Lee was trouble and Jet didn’t want to see it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As much as I enjoy writing this story, I have no idea how it is or if the readers (you guys) enjoy reading it. I’m not a Jetko fan personally, but I had this idea of them together and Jet finding out Zuko was a firebender. I wanted Jet to live and them find the gaang. (Honestly, I think I’ll ship anyone with Zuko.😂) I like hearing what people like or don’t like, what they think will happen or if something seems OOC. I was a bit disappointed no one commented on the last chapter but I’m still writing this because I enjoy it. I’m not one of those writers who say if I don’t get so many comments, no new chapters. I write when I write and that’s it for me. Writing is a passion of mine. I hope this story still interests people as I like what I’m going to do with it. (End of season 2 and part of season 3 will be changed.) 
> 
> That’s all. Sorry to almost rant on y’all.


	6. Let’s Talk It Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iroh is the best Uncle. Jet thinks about Zuko. The two of them have a long talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to end in a cliffhanger. Then decided not to and add more. Then I was going to post last night but I took my sleeping medicine and was so tired before I could finish the chapter. This morning I’m dealing with migraine but I’m putting it out anyway. I’m not sure how much this makes sense or not. I’m hoping it’s not too OOC. I hate when I do that. I’m hoping things seem believable.

Iroh returned home in what he hoped was enough time for Zuko to enjoy his evening with Jet. The last thing he wanted to do was walk in on something he shouldn’t. Not that he was sure anything would happen. It was best to be prepared.

When he entered their apartment, though, he was not prepared for what he saw. Zuko sat on the floor by the door in his undergarments, huddled in on himself with his head bent over. His tunic and pants were thrown around the floor in the direction of Zuko’s room. Iroh was sure if he looked, he would find Zuko was crying. What happened?

“Nephew?” Iroh whispered, afraid to speak too loud. “Are... are you okay?”

“I messed up.” He mumbled, not looking up.

“Oh Nephew, it’s not your fault. If something happened or didn’t happen, you’re not to blame. You have to make your own decisions when it comes to relationships.” 

“No. It’s not that Uncle.” Zuko looked up, his face wet from tears and eyes red. “I messed up. So much. I thought we were okay. I thought he was okay. But it’s not. I messed it up!”

“Nephew, I’m not sure what you messed up. What I think happened might not be what happened. Right now I think I need to have a very long talk with Jet about taking advantage of my Nephew. If that is not the case, please let me know.” Iroh had turned away from the war and was more peaceful. However, given what he could see, he had a feeling violence might be the answer.

“What..?” Zuko gave a confused look at Iroh before looking around. “Oh. Oh!” Zuko blinked and a bright shade of red covered his face. “That’s not what happened. I mean... we did... but that’s not... it’s...”

“Breathe and then tell me.” 

“We had a nice night. We ate. We kissed. We... did stuff.” Zuko looked away at the last part. Iroh was thankful for the basic summary of events. He did not want to hear about his Nephew’s sex life. “Then I opened my mouth and wanted to be honest.”

“What did you say?” A million different things went through Iroh’s mind-not all of which were good.

Zuko shook his head. “I don’t want to tell you. Not yet. You’ll be disappointed in me.”

“Nothing you say or do could make me disappointed in you. Nothing.” Iroh wrapped his arms around Zuko.

“I ruined everything! I know I did!”

“Zuko. There is no way you ruined everything. I will love you no matter what.”

“But Jet... Jet will hate me. He already does.”

“I don’t think he does. Not really. He might be upset and need some time to himself. He won’t hate you.”

“How do you know? You weren’t there. You don’t know what I said!”

“No, I don’t. But I know you. I’ve seen how he looks at you. There is nothing you could have said or done to make him hate you forever.”

Zuko said nothing else as he curled into Iroh. Iroh held his boy, humming to him, until he fell asleep. Once asleep, Iroh carried him onto his bed and tucked him in. He ran his fingers through Zuko’s hair, still humming. Satisfied, he bent down and placed a kiss on Zuko’s forehead. “Goodnight turtleduck.”

~~~~

Zuko was antsy all day. Every time the door opened, he wasn’t sure if it was going to be Jet coming to fight or apologize or Dai Li coming to arrest Zuko. His heart couldn’t take much more. 

Uncle tried to get him to calm down by working in the back but that made things so much worse. He was afraid his Uncle would be arrested and he would know nothing. Or Jet would attack Uncle. Or...

The more Zuko thought, the more worried and panicked he became. It was best for everyone he wasn’t in the back.

He tried to control himself as the day went on. The later it was, the less chance of someone coming for Zuko or Uncle. It also meant the more likely chance of never seeing Jet again. 

~~~~

Jet spent the night contemplating. He couldn’t sleep. Not when he knew there were firebenders in Ba Sing Se. Sure, he happened to know and like the firebenders but that was besides the point. They were firebenders.

Still, it was Lee. Lee with the perfect lips that were kissable. That only smiled for Jet. Lee with eyes that were gold as the sun. Lee with the burn mark on his face, and several small ones around his body. Lee with the amazing body. 

But firebenders destroyed everything Jet knew and loved. They killed his family. Burned his home. They should burn.

Except Lee and Mushi. Mushi was too sweet. Lee already burned.

“Ugh! This is frustrating!” Jet exclaimed, storming into the kitchen. At least by now it was morning and he wouldn’t risk waking anyone up.

“What happened?” Smellerbee asked. “Trouble with Lee?”

“He’s a firebender.” Jet snarled. “He told me last night.”

“And you’re not happy?” 

“He lied to me!” 

“How did he lie Jet? Did he ever say he wasn’t one?”

“No but it doesn’t matter.” 

“You were fine with him being part Fire Nation. Why is this any different?”

“Because he’s one of them! He’s one of those who killed my family and burned my village down!”

“Jet, just because they’re Fire Nation or a firebender doesn’t mean they’re evil. Isn’t that what Sokka and Aang said?” She sighed. “Did he even say why he’s here?”

“He said they’re refugees.” Jet shook his head. “He could be lying. He could be trying to take over Ba Sing Se from the inside.”

“Do you like him?”

“I thought I did ‘Bee. I think I do. But he’s Fire Nation.” He sat down and placed his head in his hands. He could feel the tears falling. “Fire Nation hurt us.”

“I think they hurt him too Jet. The scar isn’t from an airbender.”

“I just... I don’t know what’s to do. I’m angry with him. I’m furious with myself for not realizing it sooner. At the same time, I want to be with him.”

“You need time to think on it more. Don’t do anything rash or stupid.” She flicked his forehead.

“What?! I’m not going to turn him in!” As soon as he said it, he realized it was the truth. He was going to lie and turn in Lee later but as the words came out of his mouth, he knew he wouldn’t turn him in. “I’m not. I won’t.” He repeated. 

He left the apartment and walked around the Lower Ring. The more he walked, the more he thought about Lee. Jet was furious about Lee being Fire Nation and a firebender. Lee didn’t have to tell Jet any of it, but he did. He trusted Jet enough to tell him who he was. He couldn’t control what he was any more than Jet could control what he was. 

If Jet stayed with Lee, he would stay knowing Lee was a firebender. Could Jet do that? Could Jet be okay with Lee being a firebender?

It was almost sunset when Jet stood in front of the tea shop. He hadn’t even realized he was walking there until he looked up. It seemed he already knew what he wanted.

“We need to talk.”

~~~~

Zuko felt his heart stop when he heard those words come from Jet. Was it good? Was it bad? Would he break up? “Oh... okay. Um... let me go tell my Uncle and we can go to my apartment. If you’d like. Or we can go elsewhere.”

“Your place is fine.”

Zuko nodded and ran to tell Uncle he had to leave. Uncle was hesitant but let Zuko go. The walk back to the apartment was quiet and Zuko was thankful it was short. Jet wasn’t saying anything, not even when Zuko asked him questions about his day. Once inside, it seemed a different story.

“Look, I won’t lie and say I’m happy about... what you told me. I’ve been hurt in the past and I’ve sworn off Fire Nation of any kind. I’ve had no problem fighting or killing them. They’ve killed my family and burned my home. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to inflict the same pain to them. No matter who it was. Military or civilian. A few months back, we were going to flood a town full of Fire Nation civilians. It was what I wanted. The plan was going perfectly, until this guy decided to warn the town about what I was going to do. They were saved. I was so furious. He told me I was wrong, told me I became the traitor when I stopped protecting innocent people. After that, we had to flee and my group became smaller to just Smellerbee and Longshot. We came to Ba Sing Se to start over. To have a new life. I want that. I want to trust you, I want to be with you, but you represent everything I hate.”

Zuko let Jet’s words soak in. He was a traitor when he stopped protecting innocent. Is that what happened with Zuko when he attacked the Avatar? The Southern Water Tribe was innocent, the tiny village was filled with women and children. Yet Zuko attacked. Did he become a traitor at that moment? If so, was he a traitor to his Nation? Or to people in general? “Gaipan.” Zuko said when the rest of Jet’s story registered.

“What?” 

“Gaipan. That’s where it was, wasn’t it?” Zuko asked.

“How did you know?”

“I heard about a town being flooded but no one died.” 

“Fire Nation.” Jet scoffed. 

“My mother left when I was young because of the Fire Nation. I don’t know if she’s alive or not. I almost wish she was dead. It would make things easier.” Zuko figured it was his turn to talk. “Three years ago, I was burned and banished because I spoke out to protect new recruits from slaughter. My Father burned me. It wasn’t the first time. I thought I deserved it. I thought I deserved all those times he burned me as punishment because I was weak. I was given an impossible task in order to return home. I realize now I was never meant to accomplish it. I’ve done things I’m not proud of all in hopes of pleasing the man who burned me. I thought that’s what love is. A couple months ago, my Uncle and I were labeled as traitors to the Fire Nation. I didn’t know until my sister came to take me back and one of her crew called us prisoners. We managed to escape and fled to Ba Sing Se. If we’re caught by the Earth Kingdom, we’ll be imprisoned. If we’re caught by the Fire Nation, we’ll be taken back and executed for our crimes. There’s no where left to go. My Uncle left home to follow me during my banishment. Now I follow him in Ba Sing Se and his passion for tea.”

“Lee isn’t your real name, is it?”

“No.” 

“Will you tell me what it is?”

“Not today. Maybe one day. I like being Lee. It means I don’t have to think about what I left behind. I can just be a normal refugee.”

Jet reached out to touch Zuko’s scar. Zuko held his breath as Jet traced along the edges. He rested his hand over the scar. “That isn’t what love is.”

“No. It was cruel and wrong.” Zuko said the phrase he repeated to himself every day the past few months. Maybe if he repeated enough, he would believe it.

“How did no one stop this from happening?”

“My Father is... important. Speaking out against him is not wise.” Zuko did not want to tell Jet about the royal status just yet. 

“I like you Lee. A lot.” Jet moved his hand away. “I want to hate you because of what you are. I think a part of me does. But I’m willing to try with you.”

“Thank you Jet.” Zuko smiled. “Can I kiss you now?”

Jet smirked. “Sure, you can kiss me.”


	7. Don’t You Wish Your Boyfriend Was Hot Like Mine?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jet and Zuko just want some alone time. No one agrees. Then everything changed when a flyer dropped onto their laps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took longer than expected but then I wanted to end at a certain point so... *points to new tags/characters*  
> (I mean, almost 5,000 word count for chapter so that takes longer...)
> 
> Also, taking part from the show and making it my own.

Jet and Zuko seemed to become closer after they talked. Zuko told Jet more of his life in the Fire Nation, his life on the sea, and becoming a refugee. He was still silent on his actual name, his status, and his family. It was nice to not have to hide everything in his life. 

Jet spoke more of his life as well. How he was the leader of the Freedom Fighters and they were much larger at one point. How he liked taking care of the kids and wondered how they were without him. How, when he was eight, his village was burned down and his family was killed. How he had anger for everything Fire Nation related. How he was still angry with Fire Nation.

Zuko was not looking forward to telling Jet that he was the Prince of the Fire Nation. (Maybe he wouldn’t find out?)

They spent so much time talking mostly because they couldn’t do much else. (Except kissing. Which was a huge given.) Uncle didn’t want to leave Zuko and Jet alone in the apartment and if they went to his room, Zuko had to keep the door open. Not like Zuko was going to do much of anything with his Uncle in the next room. (Zuko was quiet on most things. Sex, apparently, was not one of them.) Jet’s apartment was smaller and he shared his room with Smellerbee and Longshot so doing anything else besides kissing and talking was out of the question. 

It was fine though because after Jet found out Zuko being a firebender, the two of them needed to talk. A lot. There were still times Jet wasn’t happy with Zuko firebending or being a firebender. The more they talked and shared stories, the more Jet was comfortable around Zuko. 

Zuko even was able to mention a few stories about Uncle. How he was in the war but left after his son was killed. How he became a different man afterwards. How he followed Zuko in his banishment though he didn’t have to. How he was the only family member that didn’t try to kill Zuko or want Zuko dead. (And wasn’t that sad?) Zuko hoped the more he talked about his family, the more Jet would be comfortable with them being Fire Nation. Or wouldn’t flip out when it was revealed Zuko was the Prince and Uncle was the Dragon of the West. 

The times they were by themselves, they spent walking around the Lower Ring and, on occasion, the Middle Ring. They ate, they shopped, they saw plays, and they were not allowed to go near the hill outside the city. (Uncle really didn’t want them by themselves outside the city but specified the one hill in particular. Zuko hadn’t seen his Uncle that serious before so they listened.) On this particular evening, the two of them walked to a reflective pond. Or should have been reflective pond if the candles were lit. No wonder it was so empty.

“You know, you could light the candles.” Jet whispered into Zuko’s good ear. 

“But what if someone sees me?” 

“There’s no one around. No one is looking.” Jet placed a few kisses along Zuko’s jawline. “Besides, I’ve heard this place is beautiful when it’s lit up. I’d love to see it with you. Don’t you think it’ll be romantic?”

Zuko did think so. And Jet’s kisses didn’t hurt either. And the way he lowered his voice, whispering in a sensual way. There was no way Zuko could say no to him. “Close your eyes.” If Zuko was going to do it, he wanted to surprise Jet.

Jet smirked at Zuko before compiling. Zuko took one more look around to make sure no one was looking and lit each one of the candles one by one with his firebending. After he finished, he took a moment to take it in. It was beautiful. It was romantic. He turned back around to Jet and saw the boy with his eyes open staring at Zuko.

“Jet!” Zuko exclaimed.

“You didn’t say no peaking or to keep my eyes closed.” Jet said. Zuko had nothing to say to that. (Stupid Jet and his stupid reasoning.) “I’m glad I looked. You were amazing.”

“It’s just a little trick.” Zuko blushed and looked away. “Nothing special.”

“Didn’t look little to me.” Jet grabbed Zuko’s chin and turned him to face Jet. “It was beautiful. You were beautiful. You are beautiful.”

“Jet...” Zuko started, unsure of what to say. Jet called him beautiful often. At first Zuko didn’t want to believe it. The more he said it, the more Zuko wanted to believe it. 

“You’re so beautiful.” Jet repeated and leaned in to kiss Zuko. 

Zuko felt like he could kiss Jet forever. He didn’t want to let go of him. He loved the taste of his lips. He loved the way he felt when kissing Jet. He loved the way he made Jet feel. The more they kissed, the closer Zuko moved to Jet to where their bodies were touching. He couldn’t get enough of Jet. The more they kissed, the more aggressive, the more passionate they became. Air and breathing were not as important as kissing was. Only kissing Jet and the way Jet’s hands felt against Zuko’s bare chest. (When did Jet get under Zuko’s clothes? Did it really matter?) The way Jet slid his hands down Zuko’s body, down to his pants. (Distantly, Zuko realized they were still in public and what they both wanted to do was not appropriate in public. Zuko found himself not caring.) 

“Boys!” A loud voice and throat clearing interrupted their kissing. A guard-thankfully not a Dai Li agent-glared at the two of them. “I’m sorry to interrupt but it is close to curfew.” He glared in a way he had no problems interrupting.

“Oh.” Zuko said. “Uh... sorry...?” Zuko had no idea what to say. He still wasn’t thinking clearly. Hearing Jet snort meant he was not impressed with Zuko’s linguistic skills. “I guess we should head back home.”

“As it is close to curfew, I will escort you both home.” The guard said. “Hopefully you don’t live far as I would hate for you to be out past curfew.”

Zuko could hear the threat in his voice and didn’t like it. He wasn’t far from where they were but Jet lived further away. Even if he ran, there was no way of making it to his apartment before curfew. “I’m not far. He’s staying with me tonight.” Zuko said of Jet. “He’s too far away to make it home safely.” 

“Good.” The guard held out his arm, allowing Zuko to start walking and he would follow.

Zuko took the lead, holding onto Jet as he walked. “I hope you don’t mind staying tonight. I didn’t think you’d be able to make it back to your apartment.” He whispered.

“I have no problem. What about your Uncle?” 

“Given the circumstances, he’ll be fine.” Zuko shrugged. Jet brushed his fingers against Zuko, sending a tingling sensation throughout Zuko. Zuko felt that desire to kiss Jet explode inside of him and he was once more pulling him closer. Curfew didn’t matter as long as he could kiss Jet.

“Oh come on! Enough!” The guard cried out as he pulled Zuko and Jet apart. “Look, it’s almost curfew. My shift ends soon after. I’d rather be able to go home on time myself. What you do when you get to your place is up to you.”

Zuko frowned but continued walking to his apartment. Every once in a while, he’d look over at Jet who smirked at him. That stupid smirk which drove Zuko crazy. The smirk that was annoying when Zuko first saw it and now made Zuko want to see it all the time. Since the guard was blocking Zuko, he had to get home faster so he could go back to kissing Jet. 

His mind wondered with all the things he wanted to do with Jet, he almost didn’t notice they arrived at his building. “Oh, this is me. I guess we’ll go in now.”

“Oh no. I’m walking you to your door. I’m making sure you’re inside. Before curfew.” The guard glared.

Zuko sighed and led them upstairs to his apartment and hoped that would be the end of it. The guard stared at Zuko until Zuko opened the door, to a worried Uncle. “Uncle!”

“Nephew I was so worried!” Uncle pulled Zuko inside and into a hug. “It was getting late and you weren’t home.” 

“Sir,” the guard started, “I saw these two out and wanted to make sure they were home before curfew.”

“Oh thank you! That’s so kind of you!” Uncle said, as he still held onto Zuko in a bone-crushing hug. “Isn’t that nice Nephew?”

“So nice.” He muttered while trying to escape the hug. The more Zuko struggled, the tighter Uncle held onto Zuko. 

“Just making sure people are safe inside their homes.” The guard bowed and left.

Once the door was closed, Uncle release Zuko from the hug. “Why were you out so late? You make me worry!”

“Sorry Uncle. We lost track of time.” He looked away as Uncle raised an eyebrow. A firebender losing track of time, track of when the sun moved was near impossible. “I hope you don’t mind Jet here tonight. There wasn’t enough time for him to go back to his place.”

“I’m glad you’re both safe.” Uncle smiled. “Now why don’t you make sure your room is ready while I make some tea with Jet.”

Zuko wasn’t sure what he meant. His room was never messy. There wasn’t much in his room to be messy. “Uncle, I’m not sure what-“ Zuko stopped when Uncle sent him a glare. Ah, so the room was just an excuse. “Sure. I can do that.” Zuko glanced at Jet for a brief moment before turning back to Uncle. “Let me know when tea is ready.”

~~~~

Iroh waited until Zuko closed his door before turning to Jet. Jet, at least, had the decency to look afraid. “Jet, why don’t you help me with some tea?”

“Sure.” Jet gulped. “Sure, I can do that.”

“Let’s make some Ginger tea while we talk.” Iroh held back a smirk at Jet’s expression. Normally this late, Iroh would have suggested Chamomile tea to help relax them but seeing Jet and Zuko look sick at Iroh wanting to talk (and maybe scare Jet), Ginger would be better for their stomachs. Though, how long did they both expect Iroh to wait to talk to Jet?

“Is there anything you wanted to talk about?” Jet asked as he started the fire. 

“My Nephew.” Iroh handed Jet the teapot filled with water to heat. “It seems the two of you are rather close.”

“Lee said you were okay with him being...him. Is it me you are not happy with? Or would it be any male?” Jet frowned.

“It doesn’t matter who my Nephew dates as long as he is happy. I’m not like his Father.” Iroh sighed. “The day he made dinner for you, he was not happy when I came home. I thought something bad happened. He refused to tell me what it was. You not showing up for work didn’t help.” 

“He told me about his bending. I wasn’t happy. I haven’t had the best history with Fire Nation or firebenders. I left angry with him. We’ve talked about it since then. He told me he was banished. And how you followed him.” The water was ready and Jet handed it over to Iroh. “He loves you. He would do anything to protect you.”

“I feel the same way about him. He’s like a son to me. I would do anything for him.” Iroh prepared the tea, letting it sit and rest. “If you hurt him, I will hurt you. If you feel the need to out him as a bender, don’t. Out me. I will not let my Nephew suffer because of you.”

“I won’t! Honest!” Jet said. “I don’t think I could hurt him. He hasn’t told me his real name or who he was but it doesn’t matter. I won’t hurt him.”

“Even if he was the Firelord?” Iroh raised an eyebrow. “Or son of the Firelord?”

Jet blinked and thought for a moment before speaking. “No. I don’t think that would matter. He’s not doing what the Firelord is doing. He’s not killing innocent people. He stood up for them. Not like I was. If he’s not mad about my past, I can’t be mad about his.” 

“Good.” Iroh smiled. “I think tea is ready now.” He took the tea and teacups and set them on the table. “Nephew! Tea is ready!”

Zuko opened the door like he was waiting by it. He stumbled out of the room and to the table. “What tea are we having Uncle?” 

“Ginger.” Iroh narrowed his eyes at Zuko. Zuko blushed and looked away. It was just as Iroh thought: Zuko was trying to eavesdrop on the conversation he had with Jet. 

“That’s uh... that’s good.” 

Iroh poured tea for the three of them and made sure they were not sitting next to each other. He knew what they were going to do later and this was his way of making them suffer. “Where did you two end up going?”

“There was a reflecting pond with candles around I wanted to show Lee.” Jet said. “The candles weren’t lit but Lee took care of it.”

Zuko blushed and turned away from Jet. Jet was smiling and looked lost in his thoughts. Iroh could tell by their expressions they enjoyed themselves. He wondered if this is what Zuko had to see when Iroh flirted with everyone. 

“That’s so nice.” Iroh smiled. “Were you there a long time when the guard showed up? Or were you... occupied?” The shocked expression on both of them made it worth it for Iroh.

“In my defense, Lee has very kissable lips and a very nice body.” Jet stated, which caused Zuko to sputter and blush. “I couldn’t keep my hands off of him.”

Iroh chuckled. “It’s nice to be able to spend time with someone you care about.” He finished his cup of tea in one last gulp. “It’s getting late. You two should go to bed.”

“I can help clean.” Zuko offered. It was sweet, but not needed.

“It’s fine Nephew. I’ll be up for a while.” It didn’t take much for the two of them to go running to Zuko’s room. Giggling of all things too!

~~~~

Jet fell asleep on top of Lee and realized how lucky he was to have a firebender as a boyfriend. Never did he think he would say that. But having the warm body next to him, was so enjoyable. He didn’t need any covers (or clothes) with Lee next to him. 

The problem was in the morning when Lee woke up. With the sun. Sure, Jet had done that plenty living in the trees or on the streets. Sun comes up, more people are out and protection is needed. 

Still, Lee didn’t move from the bed though he was awake. He squirmed a little under Jet, but didn’t move otherwise. 

Instead of looking up at Lee, Jet decided to kiss Lee starting from his neck and down his chest. Each time he kissed, he lingered a moment longer, savoring each kiss. By the time Jet reached Lee’s ribs, he let out a soft moan. The further down Jet kissed, the more moans Lee let out.

“I never realized how loud you could get.” Jet smirked and hesitated his kissing. 

“Jet!” Lee cried.

“Yes?” Jet placed a kiss on Lee’s waist. “Is there something you want?” Another kiss, lower. 

“Jet!”

Jet stopped kissing down Lee’s body and moved over it. He hovered where he knew Lee wanted him. “Is there something you want?”

“Yes. I-“ Lee started but was interrupted by a knocking on the door.

“Boys! I hope you’re awake! I’m making tea and breakfast.” Uncle’s way too loud voice came from the other side of the door. “When it’s done, I’m opening the door. So make sure you’re dressed for the day.”

Lee groaned. “What kind of tea are you making Uncle?”

“I have some nice green tea I’m brewing.”

Lee widened his eyes. Obviously he knew more about tea than Jet did. “Okay. Thank you!” He called out before jumping out of bed. “Of all the teas!” He muttered.

“Lee?”

“Black tea might be pushing it but we would have a few minutes.” Lee started as tossed clothes at Jet and threw some on himself. “But green tea? He might as well say he’s opening the door right now!”

Jet envied Lee’s knowledge of tea at that moment. He also was annoyed with Uncle and his ability to prevent the two of them from enjoying themselves.

True to his word, Uncle opened the door less than two minutes later. Jet thought he was pushing the time for tea because there was no way any tea was ready that quickly at the shop. “Tea is ready.” Uncle smiled like he didn’t interrupt anything.

“Thank you Uncle.” Lee smiled. 

Jet sighed as he followed Lee and Uncle out. At least they were both dressed before Uncle opened the door. Even if Jet was wearing Lee’s clothes. That smelt like him. Not that Jet was sniffing his clothes. Because that would be weird.

~~~~

It was during a break when Zuko and Jet were outside that they noticed it. Flyers falling down everywhere. Jet reached out and grabbed one. “It seems Aang lost his bison. How does that happen?” Jet asked as he handed the flyer to Zuko.

“Aang?” Zuko repeated, reading the flyer. The flyer stating the Avatar lost his bison. The Avatar who Zuko had chased all the way to the Northern Water Tribe. The Avatar who happened to be in Ba Sing Se along with Zuko. Who Jet also knew.

“Yeah, Aang. He’s the Avatar. Met him a while back.” Jet shrugged. “His friend, Sokka, was the one who protected the town I told you about.”

“I uh... I met the Avatar.” Zuko did not look any where near Jet when he spoke. “It might not have been in the... uh... best terms...?”

“Oh cause of Fire Nation?” Jet asked. 

“Uh... not exactly.” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. “Capturing the Avatar might have been the only way back home.”

“Huh. At least Katara won’t be mad at me as much.” Jet laughed. Zuko did not see what was so funny and narrowed his eyes at Jet. “I might have convinced Katara and Aang to help flood the town.”

“There’s no way they would have done that.” Zuko might not have known them personally, but there was no way the kid who asked his enemy to be his friend would flood a town full of people. 

“I didn’t tell them that’s what they were doing. I lied.” He shrugged. “I might have also flirted with Katara a lot.”

“What?!” 

“She’s hot.” Jet laughed when Zuko groaned. “Question now is would you still chase after Aang?”

Zuko hesitated and thought about it. Even if he did somehow manage to capture the Avatar, or bring him to the Fire Nation, there was no way he could live with himself after his Father got a hold of Aang. “No. It’s pointless.”

“What do you want to do then?” Jet asked as he stared at the flyer in his hands.

“We could help. We can find out where his bison is and rescue him.” Zuko knew he was skilled enough to sneak around and ask the right questions to the right people. “I could teach Aang firebending.”

“Really?”

“He needs to learn. There’s not many people who would volunteer.” Zuko reasoned. He was about to say more in his defense when Jet kissed him.

“I think that’s wonderful.” Jet said. “So how are we going to find Aang’s bison?”

Zuko smirked. “I’m pretty good at sneaking around. I can find out where the bison is.”

“Fine but you are not allowed to rescue him without me. You find out and tell me and we’ll go together.”

“What if I find out where he is by finding him?”

“In that case, you can rescue him yourself. But I don’t want you going by yourself. I’ll go with you.”

“Jet, I can-“

“No. I go with you.” 

“Okay, I’ll wait for you.”

“Good.” Jet nodded.

~~~~

Jet was glad he was able to sneak away for the afternoon. It was slower and he managed to convince Uncle to let him have the afternoon off. Really, he wanted to see if he could find out where Appa was before Lee did. Or find Aang and Katara to talk to them. 

As if the Spirits are reading his mind, he saw Katara putting up a poster. “Katara? I’m glad I found you. I think-“

He stopped talking as Katara sent the fountain of water in his direction. The water pushed him back and a part of him wished he had his swords with him. Not to fight but to defend himself. Then again, he’s trying to show he’s better now.

“What do you want Jet?” Katara snarled. 

Maybe he deserved that. “I want to help.”

Katara bent the water against him again, pushing him back against the wall. “Tell it to some other girl.” She froze the water around Jet.

Jet remembered the last time he was frozen in water (by Katara) and thought maybe he needed some help. “I’ve changed now. Honest.”

“I doubt that.” Katara sent ice daggers at Jet, some getting a little too close.

“Katara?” 

Jet saw Sokka, Aang, and a small girl approached Katara. He hoped they will believe him. Somehow. “Hey guys...” Jet attempted to smile.

“Jet? What are you doing here?” Sokka asked, in a very similar tone to his sister.

“I actually was looking for you guys. I wanted to help.” He put on his best smile.

“Really? You expect us to believe you?” Katara raised an eyebrow.

“Look, I know I did some bad things but I have changed. It’s just Smellerbee and Longshot in the city. I’ve gone straight. Got a job working at a tea shop too, if you can believe it.”

“You, work?” Sokka laughed.

“Yeah, I work with my boyfriend.” Jet smiled thinking of Lee and his soft lips. “He’s amazing.”

“Boyfriend?” Katara blinked and unfroze the water. Jet wondered if she did it subconsciously or purposely.

“You have a problem with me dating a guy?”

“No. Just didn’t think you were like that.” Katara said. “Not after...” She shrugged and didn’t finish. He knew what she meant. He was very flirtatious with her and didn’t seem to show any other desire.

“Yeah, sorry about lying to you. It was wrong.” He said. 

“How do we know he’s not lying now?” Sokka asked.

The little girl walked up to Jet and placed her hand on the wall he was still against. Up close, Jet could see she was blind. “He’s not lying. His heart rate hasn’t changed.”

“Well okay then.”

“I’m not lying. I have changed. My boyfriend is a firebender.” Jet said. “I never thought I would have said that. He is and we want to help.”

“Wait! You’re dating a firebender?!” Katara almost yelled. 

“Yeah. He’s hot.” Jet shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

Sokka laughed. “He’s hot! Ha! Cause firebender. Ha!” 

“He’s not lying.” Tiny said.

“I thought you hated Fire Nation.” Aang piped up.

“I did. I do. He’s different though. He said he could teach you firebending Aang.”

“Wow. That’s amazing!” Aang smiled like he won a great prize. 

“Why do I find this all hard to believe?” Katara asked. She folded her arms and glared at Jet.

“Because I was a bad person who wanted to hurt Fire Nation any way I could and I took that anger out in ways that hurt myself and everyone around?” Jet said and was met with silence and shocked expressions. “I’ve done some growing.” He shrugged. “If you’d like, we can go to the tea shop where I work and you can talk to my boyfriend.”

“Uh yeah... let’s do that.” Sokka said.

“Sokka!” Katara glared at her brother.

“What? Even if Jet is lying, we have the Avatar, a Master Waterbender, and Master Earthbender. I think we can handle the situation. Besides, Toph can sense any problems before they happen so we’re in good hands.”

“I think it’s worth a shot!” Aang smiled.

Jet led them through the Lower Ring towards the tea shop. He went towards the back of the shop instead of the front as it was close to closing and it would be easier if he could enter through the employees entrance in the back. At least to see if it was clear enough to talk to Lee and Uncle without an audience. Jet was sure Lee would have been fine with him telling Aang and Katara about the firebending because he was going to help them but the rest of the city didn’t need to find out.

“Can you wait here a minute? I need to check to see if he’s there?” Jet asked once they were standing outside the back door.

“See? I knew it! He’s setting us up for a trap! We can’t trust him.” Katara cried.

“No! Would you stop already?” Jet rolled his eyes. “I want to make sure no one else is there so we can all talk. It’s not like he can just bend whenever he wants here.”

“I think we should respect Jet’s wishes.” Aang said. “This is his place of work after all. We don’t want him to get fired because of us.” He looked at Katara with those sad eyes. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“Fine. We’ll wait here.”

“Thank you. I’ll be right back.” Jet said right before he closed the door on them. He wasn’t in the mood to hear her get the last word in. In the kitchen, he saw Uncle cleaning up a few dishes. He peaked out the small window and saw no one out in the shop. Not even Lee.

“If you are looking for Lee, he stepped out for a few items. We ran out of Camomile and Ginger tea. We’re almost out of Jasmine as well. We had to close up shop early because of it.” Uncle said as he continued with the teapots.

“Oh. I have some friends I wanted Lee to meet. They needed help.” Jet summarized the basics. He wasn’t sure what Uncle would think of it all. “Is it okay if I let them come in until Lee comes back?”

“Of course!” Uncle smiled. “I’ll go find some tea and snacks for you while you bring them in. Once Lee comes back, I’ll have him bring them in.”

“Thanks Uncle!” Jet waited until Uncle left before opening the door. “Lee should be back soon. He ran out on a supply run. Come on in. We can wait in the shop for him.”

~~~~

Zuko couldn’t believe his luck. He not only got a great deal on all kinds of teas they needed, but he managed to find a Dai Li agent by himself. After a little persuasion, he was able to find where the bison was being held. At least Zuko remembered to knock the agent out and hide him somewhere. Last thing he needed was for them to move the bison before Zuko could rescue him. If only he had his swords with him...

It didn’t matter if he promised Jet not to go alone. Which was a good thing. Jet could help. And he could let his Uncle know he would be out so he wouldn’t worry. That would be smart.

As he entered the kitchen of the tea shop, he was smiling from all his good luck. 

“Nephew, you look happy.” Uncle raised his eyebrow. 

“Things are changing for us. I can feel it.” Zuko handed the bag of teas to his Uncle.

“I’m glad of the sudden change. While you were gone, Jet came back with some friends. I made some tea if you could bring it in for them.” Uncle handed him a tray with two teapots and six cups. A few tarts were also on the tray.

“Of course Uncle.” Zuko smiled as he entered the dining area. He almost wasn’t paying attention as he walked into the dining room. He saw Jet and that’s all that mattered. “Jet!”

“Lee, I wanted to introduce you to some friends.” Jet said, still blocking said friends.

“Before that,” Zuko started, “I figured it out. I know where he is.” Zuko whispered. “We can go tonight.” Zuko ignored the voices behind Jet. They weren’t important.

“That’s great!” Jet exclaimed and took the tray from Zuko. “Because the Avatar is here!” Jet smiled and stepped away from Zuko.

Zuko was met with shocked expressions from four people he hadn’t expected to see this soon. Sure, he wanted to see them because he wanted to help but now? Their cries of “Zuko!” and getting ready to attack did not help the situation.

“Uh... hi.” Zuko waved. “Zuko here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, wanted to mention, hopefully no one thinks this but Katara was not saying about Jet and boys because she doesn’t agree. She said it because Jet was flirt heavy with her and she didn’t think he would be into guys. She thought he was just girls. He’s more into anything hot.


	8. Lake Laogai

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things are revealed and a flying bison is freed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I worked too long on this. Like I wanted this out but I couldn’t focus enough to write what I liked. I’m still not sure about it. But whatever.
> 
> Oh, Katara may seem mean, but that’s because she’s protective of her group. No drinking that Katara hate juice here. (Since it’s Zuko’s and Jet’s POV, it’s hard to understand why she seems mad.)

Zuko felt he owed an explanation of sorts. Not to Aang or his friends but to Jet. His boyfriend. Who was staring at him with a raised eyebrow, curious about what was going on. His curious face so adorable, Zuko just wanted to kiss it but that would not be good when he had to explain things.

“Zuko, what are you doing here?” The waterbender-Katara snarled. It would be a lot easier to talk to his boyfriend if he didn’t have to worry about the Avatar’s group.

“Uh...I work here...?” Zuko thought that was obvious. 

“No. What are you doing in Ba Sing Se?” She did not put down her water, still ready to attack him. He had not moved to attack her though. “Trying to take it over for the Fire Nation?”

“What?! No! My Uncle and I are refugees! And if you don’t mind, my name is Lee and Uncle is Mushi.” Zuko said, adding the last part before he forgot. It was best to make sure they knew of the name changes. 

“Refugees? How does the Prince of the Fire Nation become a refugee?”

Zuko wished Katara hadn’t mentioned the Prince part. Jet knew the Fire Nation and firebender but did not know about Zuko being a Prince. That might be hard to explain.

“Prince?” Jet asked. “Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. That’s your name? Not Lee?”

“Yeah, about that...” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck. “I should have told you sooner.”

“It makes sense. Between what you have said and Uncle has said, I’m not surprised to hear you’re the Prince.” Jet frowned. “Zuko is a much better name for you than Lee is anyway. Lee is so basic and you’re not basic.”

Zuko gave a small smile. As long as Jet didn’t get mad, things were okay. As long as no one said anything about Zuko, it would be okay. He could still be with Jet.

“You’re okay with this Jet?” Sokka asked. “He’s the Prince of the Fire Nation! That means his dad is Firelord and his family is responsible for the war!” Sokka waved his arms around as he spoke. Zuko was a little upset Sokka had to open his mouth when things were appearing so good.

“See, I would, but I just think how he chose my dick over his father and well...” Jet shrugged.

“Jet!” Zuko turned a bright shade of red, so red it was hard to tell where his scar started. “That’s... you... I... you...” Zuko couldn’t seem to get his words out correctly. Seeing Katara’s shocked expression, Sokka’s confused face, and hearing Toph laugh did not help the situation either.

“I love making you blush.” Jet chuckled and kissed Zuko on the cheek. “You’re so adorable when you blush.”

“I can’t believe you said that!” Zuko whispered when he found his voice. 

“Not that this isn’t... nice or anything, but what is going on?” Sokka asked, interrupting the little moment.

“Lee, or Zuko I should say, and I met on the ferry on the way to Ba Sing Se. We worked together and I asked him to join my group. We started seeing each other more after entering the city and we’ve been dating a while now.” Jet explained. “He’s told me about his history and I found out about his firebending. That wasn’t a good moment for us, I’ll admit, but we worked through it. We’re better now.”

“And this teaching Aang firebending? Is that... is that real?” Sokka looked at Zuko. He wasn’t glaring like Katara was. He seemed curious.

“Uh yes.” Zuko started. The expressions and stances didn’t seem to change so he continued. “I was wrong when I attacked you and followed you to the Northern Water Tribe. I thought I had to. It’s more complicated than that and I would like to explain one day. I’ve learned how wrong I was and I’d like to help you. If you’d like, I would be honored to teach you firebending.” He bowed to Aang. 

“I asked you before if you wanted to be friends and you shot fire at me.” Aang said. 

“In my defense, I had just woken up after being knocked unconscious.” Zuko looked away. “With an arrow.”

“Wait! When did this happen?” Sokka looked between Zuko and Aang.

“When you guys were sick. Zhao captured me and Zuko rescued me. I asked him to be my friend. It didn’t end well.” Aang shrugged. 

“I like him!” Toph said and punched Zuko in the arm. “Let’s let him join.”

“Toph, we have to decide this as a group.” Katara glared at Toph. Zuko wondered why she bothered if Toph was blind. How would she see the glare?

“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya Sweetness.” Toph waved her hand in the general direction of Katara. “He’s being honest when he speaks. Plus he’ll be fun to mess with. His heartbeat goes crazy when Jet flirts with him.” She laughed.

Zuko frowned and didn’t care for the fact that Jet chuckled. Not that he was going to say anything because he still liked his boyfriends laughter. And smile. And lips. And... (Not the time!)

“It doesn’t matter right now.” Zuko spoke up before anyone else could distract him. “I know you’re looking for your bison and I know where he is. Jet and I were going to go tonight.”

“How do you know where he is? We haven’t found him anywhere.” Aang asked. 

“I... uh...” Zuko rubbed the back of his neck, unsure of how much he should mention. “I found a Dai Li agent and made him tell him. Then knocked him out and hid him so we have time to rescue the bison before the Dai Li were informed.” Zuko looked around and noticed blank expressions on everyone. “What?”

“How did you know the Dai Li knew?” Sokka asked. “We’ve been asking around and searching for him and no one says a thing!”

Zuko shrugged. “They seemed shady. I figured they’d know something.”

“Huh.” Sokka rubbed his chin. “That makes sense. So where is he?”

“Underground. Not far.” Zuko wanted to tell them where but also didn’t. If he did, they could leave him and he wanted to go. “I just need to grab my swords from the apartment and I’ll be ready.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up! What makes you think you’re coming with us?” Sokka shook his head and waved his hands.

“I figured out where your bison is. When I found out he was missing this morning. I’m a skilled fighter. I broke the Avatar out of a Fire Nation stronghold against Yu Yan Archers without bending. What makes you think I’m not coming with you?” Zuko narrowed his eyes at Sokka. They might not trust him just yet but he wasn’t useless in a fight. They should know that.

“Sokka, he’s good.” Aang said. Zuko was a little surprised he stood up for him. “He found where they’re keeping Appa. We could use the extra help. Besides, it’s like you said, the Avatar and master benders. We can handle it.”

“He’s being honest. If that makes you feel better Snoozles.”

“Aang is right Sokka. We could use the help.” Katara sighed. “I don’t like that it’s these two but they seem to want to help.” 

“Fine.” Sokka rolled his eyes. “I guess we’ll go with Zuko to his apartment and get his swords.” Sokka turned to Jet. “Where are your swords by the way?”

“They’re at Zuko’s apartment. We almost missed curfew and I ended up spending the night at his place. Left my clothes too.” Jet looked down at his clothes. “This is actually Zuko’s. He let me borrow it.” Jet sniffed his sleeve. “Still smells like him too.” He smiled.

“Jet!” Zuko squeaked out.

“What? You’re the one who threw clothes at me this morning in a rush to get dressed.” He smirked. Zuko wanted to make Jet never smirk again. At the same time, that smirk drove Zuko crazy. 

Thankfully, no one was able to comment on Jet’s statement as Uncle entered the room. He looked at each individual before turning to Zuko. “Nephew, I see you found the Avatar.”

“Actually, uh, he found me?” Zuko shrugged. 

“I see.”

“And I offered to teach him firebending.” Zuko was afraid of what his Uncle would say about that. Zuko was fine with what he was doing as he realized what he had to do a while ago. But Uncle? How would Uncle react?

“That’s wonderful Nephew.” Uncle’s face lit up in a huge grin and Zuko was sure he saw tears starting to form. “I’m so proud of this new path you are on.”

It seemed to be going well. Now to tell him a bit more difficult news. “And I figured out where the Dai Li are holding Aang’s bison and we’re going to break into their secret headquarters and free him.” The reaction to that news was complete opposite. Uncle frowned and for a brief moment looked afraid.

“Nephew, what have I told you about thinking things through?”

“We’ll be fine Uncle. I’m not going alone this time. I promised Jet I would wait for him and not rush things. And now we’ll have more help.”

Uncle sighed. “I should not let you go but I know you’ll just sneak out anyway. I ask that you take care of yourself and don’t do anything foolish.”

“Yes Uncle.” Zuko hugged his Uncle before heading out.

~~~~

Traveling to Lake Laogai was quiet and awkward. The ride on the rail part of the way gave Jet time to think and process the day. Lee was Zuko. Prince Zuko. Jet was honest when he said he wasn’t surprised. Uncle gave enough hints. Zuko’s history eluded to it as well. 

However, Jet also felt anger and frustration. Lee was Prince Zuko of the Fire Nation. Which meant he represented everything Jet hated. He wasn’t just some random firebender. He was the Prince. 

Then again, Zuko was not like the other firebenders Jet had met. 

“Jet? Are you okay?” Zuko whispered. “You’ve been quiet since we left the tea shop.”

Lying wouldn’t help him right now. “Honestly I’m not sure. I think I’m still processing how you’re the Prince.” Jet frowned. “Of the Fire Nation.”

“I’m not sure if I’m still a Prince.” Zuko shrugged. “I was banished and labeled a traitor. I don’t think that I can still be called a Prince.” 

“Still. It’s a lot to process.”

“I understand.” Zuko frowned. 

Spirits, he was so adorable when he frowned. With those cute, soft lips. Before he realized it, Jet leaned over and was kissing Zuko. Gentle, soft kisses at first. Which led to more kissing, more passion, more desire. Jet felt like he was drowning if he wasn’t kissing Zuko. Like he was dying if he wasn’t close to Zuko. If his hands didn’t find their way under Zuko’s clothes and onto his skin. 

The moment was ruined when Jet felt himself being soaked by water. “Seriously?” Katara cried out. “We need to focus and the two of you are making out?!”

“Sorry!” Zuko mumbled, a blush already forming on his cheeks.

“Are you jealous?” Jet smirked at her. (It was more of a distraction for him. Seeing Zuko’s pink cheeks made Jet think about Zuko’s other cheeks and no one needed him to think about that right then.)

“Why would I be jealous?”

“You were all over me before and now Zuko has my attention.” He winked just to annoy her.

“I was not!” She glared.

“I can tell you’re lying!” Toph said in a sing-song voice.

Jet heard chuckling around him but the one he focused on the most was Zuko’s. His laughter was a beautiful sound and not often heard. It was a shame he stopped laughing as soon as Katara glared in his direction. 

“I’m not jealous. I just think we should take this time to discuss where we are going and what we’re going to do. We need a plan.” Katara said.

“Not yet.” Zuko looked at her before turning his attention to Aang. “I’ll tell you where it is but not yet. I don’t want to risk the chance of being heard. Just know it’s underground. We’ll probably find lots of earthbenders. I’m not sure how big the headquarters will be but I’m guessing it’s huge. Large enough to hide a bison and for training and whatever else they do.”

“We should split up so we can cover more ground.” Sokka said. “But have a time frame in case of problems.”

“Are you sure that’s the best idea?” Katara asked. Though she was asking her brother, she hadn’t taken her eyes off of Zuko. She also didn’t notice the frown Sokka and Aang both had. 

“I do.” Aang said before Sokka could speak. “I think it’s a good idea.”

“We can have an earth bender in each group. Jet and Zuko are skilled in swords so they should split up. It’s good for each team to have one.” Sokka turned towards Katara. “Which means you and I are left. I don’t think you want to go with Zuko. So I’ll go with Zuko and Toph and you’ll be with Aang and Jet. Is that okay?” 

“Fine.” She sighed.

“Good. That’s settled. Now all we have to do is get to wherever we’re going.” Sokka said. Instead of turning to Zuko or expecting an answer, he leaned back. 

The rail ended in the Agrarian Zone of Ba Sing Se, not far from the zoo. Jet thought it was odd the Dai Li headquarters was near the zoo but Zuko kept walking. Past the zoo, past where people were. It was becoming more isolated as they walked. If Jet didn’t know any better, it almost seemed like a good place for Zuko to kill them all. Thankfully, he knew Zuko better.

Zuko stopped once they reached a hill overlooking a large lake. “Lake Laogai.” Zuko said, pointing. “That’s where it is. That’s where the bison is.”

Toph was the first to walk towards the lake. When she was close enough, she stomped her foot down. “Whoa. There’s lots of tunnels down here.” Jet was shocked she could tell all that from one stomp. But then, if she was teaching Aang earthbending, she had to be amazing. Only the best for the Avatar.

“No one would think to look under a lake. It’s a perfect hiding place.” Sokka said. 

Toph was the first one down the opening she found. Once they were all down, they agreed on a timeframe and split up. Jet didn’t like leaving Zuko, even if it was for a short time. Katara, it seemed, had no problem away from him.

“I don’t like the way you look at Zuko.” Jet said before she could complain. “Or talk about him.”

“It’s Zuko! He’s evil! He chased us all over the world. He tried to take Aang. He used my mother’s necklace against me.” She snarled.

“Do you have any idea why?” Jet asked. When Katara said nothing, he continued. “It’s not just because he’s Fire Nation or he’s a Prince or whatever. He had to. He regrets it.”

“How do you know? How do you know he’s not lying to you?” Katara asked, taking a step closer to Jet.

“He’s a horrible lying. The worst liar.” Jet chuckled. “The Duke could lie better than Zuko. He’s not smooth like I was either. He’s awkward and not used to talking to people. It’s adorable.”

“You... really like him, don’t you?” Katara blinked, her anger fading away.

“I do.” Jet shrugged. “He’s made me a better person. He’s told me about his history, about why he chased you guys. I understand why he did it. He thought he had no choice.”

“Why did he?” Aang asked. 

“It’s not my place to tell his story.” Jet shook his head. “Ask him if you want to know. He might tell you.”

~~~~

Zuko, Toph, and Sokka walked in silence, pausing at each hallway and doorway. Zuko figured Jet might have it worse with Katara who was still mad. But then maybe he could calm her down. At least until Zuko had a chance to speak with her. She seemed to be protective of the group, which he didn’t blame, and untrusting of Zuko. If he could explain things, she might be more accepting of Zuko. 

“This place is weird.” Sokka whispered after passing a room full of ladies repeating the same thing with a blank expression. “We need to hurry up.”

“Are you able to tell if there are any large rooms that might hold a bison?” Zuko asked Toph. He wasn’t sure how her bending worked but that’s how she figured out how large the facility was.

“There’s a few this way,” Toph pointed in front of them, “and that way,” she pointed to the left, “and one near Sweetness.”

“Can you see if they have anything in them? People? Animals?” 

“The left have too many people. There’s one ahead that might be worth checking out.” She said and started taking the lead.

With more focus on where they were going, Zuko decided to ask both of them a question he had been wondering. “What do you think of Jet and I?”

“We’re in the middle of trying to find Appa and you want to know about what we think of your relationship?” Sokka raised an eyebrow at Zuko. He must have seen an expression on Zuko’s face since he blinked and softened his own expression. “Oh. You mean of two guys together, don’t you?”

Zuko closed his eyes and sighed. “Yeah.”

“The Earth Kingdom doesn’t care.” Toph started. “Some prefer a man and woman together for heirs, but it’s nothing wrong.”

“The Water Tribe is fine with it.” Sokka added in after Toph was finished. “The raids might have depleted a lot of people in the Southern Water Tribe and we’ve been more focused on building it back up but there’s nothing wrong with two guys or two girls together. It gets cold. Another person can warm you up. Water Tribe doesn’t judge. And if you’re wondering about the Air Nomads, I know Aang has mentioned love is love. Doesn’t matter who.”

Zuko nodded. “The Fire Nation has laws against it. If we... if I were found out...”

“Not a good ending, I’m guessing?”

“No. Depending on the person and situation, it would be imprisonment or death.” He sighed. “I like Jet and I don’t think I’m wrong but there’s a part of me that’s still afraid. That tells me I’m wrong. It’s become smaller since we’ve been together but it’s still there.”

“It’s not wrong. What you feel.” Sokka placed a hand on Zuko’s arm. “We don’t judge you for that. Just who you date because, Jet, really?” He smirked. “Of all people, it had to be Jet?”

“What? I like Jet!” Zuko blushed.

“Does he still have his wheat in his mouth all the time? How do you kiss him with it?” Sokka chuckled. “How do you do anything else with it?”

“He doesn’t have it all the time!”

“Admit it, you find it stupid.”

“Fine, I do.” Zuko sighed. “But he doesn’t always have it.” Sokka and Toph were laughing at him but Zuko found he didn’t mind so much. It was nice. Almost what having friends would be like. 

It was a few minutes later, of mostly teasing Zuko, that Toph stopped them. She pointed to a door and reminded them why they were there. She opened the door with her earthbending and Appa greeted them with a roar. He had chains all around his paws. While Sokka and Toph were speaking to Appa, Zuko made quick work of the chains. He was able to slice through them in no time.

“We need to find the others and get out of here.” Zuko said when he rejoined them.

Toph searched for them and frowned. “We need to hurry. It seems the Dai Li found them.”

Appa roared and all of them were running out of the room and towards the rest of the group. Toph started leading them but it seemed Appa knew where Aang was as he was soon ahead of Toph, leading the way. It didn’t take long before they found the rest of them. Appa charged forward and a few Dai Li agents went flying.

It wasn’t much of a fight after that. Zuko took out his swords and fought two agents. Toph and Aang used earthbending against the agents. Sokka used his boomerang. Jet used his hook swords. But it seemed every time one of them started fighting an agent, Appa would come up and whack them with his tail, sending them flying. It seemed Appa was ready to leave.

“You guys found Appa!” Aang exclaimed and rushed to hug him. Zuko pretended not to hear Aang say how much he missed Appa. 

While the rest were getting on Appa or figuring a way out, Jet came over to Zuko. “I knew you’d find him.” Jet said as he pushed Zuko against the wall. “You were amazing back there.” Jet kissed Zuko. “So amazing.” More kissing, hands on his body. Zuko couldn’t focus with Jet’s lips on his. Jet could take him right there and Zuko wouldn’t mind. Jet removed Zuko’s shirt and Zuko wrapped his legs around Jet. It would be awkward against the wall, but he would make it work. As long as Jet kissed him like that, it would be worth it. Jet placed kisses along Zuko’s jawline, down his neck, and Zuko let out a moan. 

“Again?!” Katara screamed as she splashed water on the both of them, interrupted what Zuko thought was a perfectly good moment. “We need to leave. Not make out.”

Zuko blinked at his surroundings. Maybe it wasn’t the best to continue at that time. Jet would just have to stay over again. And they could finish. 

“I think I see what you mean Jet.” Sokka said, rubbing his chin. “He really seems to like your dick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Out of curiosity, does anyone want hints of other ships in here too? I’m mostly focusing on Jetko but I’m not opposed to adding hints or adding other ships as well.


	9. Training In The Finer Arts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving to the Upper Ring. Some alone time. And some not so fun visitors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This has been giving me fits. I think it’s because I was doing more of a quick overview in the beginning instead of writing out conversations because I wanted to include all of Ba Sing Se till the fight in here but I didn’t. I got distracted by some conversations and activities that I hadn’t planned. It’s all Jet’s fault because it’s his section. I didn’t plan for most of it. He’s like, nope! We doing this! 
> 
> There’s some implications of sexual activities (one very vaguely hinted at I’m not sure you’ll get) and vague homophobic reference at the end. I imply the homophobic but I don’t say it too much. It could not even appear homophobic. (Or it could.) 
> 
> As far as the sexual tension, I try to imply and say without saying. I don’t want to go too far because I can’t but I don’t want to be so vague y’all have no idea that’s what I meant.

After leaving Lake Laogai, Jet and Zuko were dropped off while the rest when to do whatever it was they were going to do. They didn’t say and Zuko wasn’t about to ask. They probably wouldn’t have told him anyway. It didn’t matter. He needed to be alone with Jet. Without a waterbender interrupting them. (Sure he could steam himself dry, but it was annoying to have to do so. Twice.) Thankfully Uncle was not home so they had plenty of time together. Alone.

Later, Zuko decided to cook dinner for the three of them while Jet watched. He thought it would be nice if he had dinner ready to surprise Uncle. Jet thought it was more fun to distract Zuko by putting his arms around him and nibble on his ear. That made Zuko want to drop everything and pay attention to Jet. (The fact that they burnt food and had to restart cooking didn’t mean anything.) 

When Uncle came home, he had good news to share with them. His tea was recognized and was offered his own teashop in the Upper Ring, along with an apartment above the shop. Which meant Zuko and Uncle were moving to the Upper Ring. Jet would also come because there was no way Zuko would be happy otherwise. Zuko wanted to convince Uncle to let Smellerbee and Longshot to come as well. The problem, Uncle said, would be the apartment as it only had three bedrooms. Jet mentioned Smellerbee and Longshot would be able to share a room since they were used to that. Zuko said he could share with Jet. Uncle raised an eyebrow at Zuko but said nothing. Jet added in how Smellerbee and Longshot were finding it hard to obtain jobs and it would be nice if what was left of Jet’s family stuck together, which swayed Uncle.

It didn’t take much to pack up what they had and move into their new apartment. Zuko almost thought it was sad how his possessions decreased over the years from his own suite, to a small room in a ship, to whatever he could carry. He found he didn’t need much except a change of clothes and his swords. Since none of them had much, it wasn’t long before they were all settled in the new apartment. 

With the extra time, Uncle decided to train his new employees. Longshot managed to brew decent tea and was an excellent baker. Since he wasn’t one to talk, putting him in the kitchen with Uncle made perfect sense. And a teashop with no pastries was a sad teashop. Smellerbee would join Jet and Zuko in serving tea, and keeping the two of them in line. Having a third person to help serve was also good for Zuko since he could spend some time in the morning training Aang with firebending. Which, since they were in the Upper Ring, was going to be a lot easier. 

The problem was that Zuko hadn’t see or heard from the Avatar-Aang-since Lake Laogai. Granted it had only been two days and they spent the time packing and moving. With them now moved, Jet and Zuko spent the time they had walking around to find where Aang lived. It did not take as long as expected as it was the only house with a giant hole on the side. While Zuko didn’t know them all that well, he was willing to bet anything that Toph made the hole. 

Before they even approached the front door, Appa roared and landed in front of them. Zuko might have stepped closer to Jet, to protect him, of course. No other reason. 

“Appa!” Aang called out as the bison licked both Zuko and Jet. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay.” Zuko said as he and Jet tried to clean off as much bison drool as they could.

“He likes you guys.” Aang smiled. “You rescued him. Thank you, again, for that.”

Zuko gave a small smile. “It was the right thing to do.” Jet squeezed his hand and he was reminded why they came. “Uncle is opening a teashop in the Upper Ring. We’re not far from here. So I can come over in the morning for some training. If that’s okay with you. To start training, I mean. And the morning part too. Not that the afternoon is bad, of course, it’s just easier in the morning-“

“Zuko.” Jet interrupted Zuko’s rambling. “You are such a cute, awkward turtleduck.”

Zuko blushed a bright shade of red as Jet kissed his cheek. He pretended to not hear the snickers inside the house or from Aang. Zuko was awkward and had no idea how to talk to people. Everyone knew that. Jet said it was cute though. He liked Zuko’s awkwardness. “Oh, um, also Uncle’s teashop opens tomorrow. The Jasmine Dragon. I know he would love to see all of you there.”

“That sounds great!” Aang gave a huge smile. “We’d love that. Maybe the next day we can start training?”

“That sounds great!” Zuko cleared his throat and tried again, his enthusiasm less apparent. “That sounds good. Great. Then I guess we’ll see you tomorrow? Okay good. Tomorrow.” Zuko started to walk backwards and tripped over a step. He cleared his throat again. “Yep. Tomorrow. Bye!” He grabbed Jet’s hand and ran away. He had embarrassed himself enough for the day.

~~~~

The opening day of the teashop was busier than Jet expected. He really should have expected it to be this busy as Uncle makes the best tea around and people in Ba Sing Se love their tea. (He didn’t understand why Zuko thought it was just hot leaf juice.) Aang managed to come by in the evening when it was slowing down. With it close to closing, Zuko took Aang in the back to show him a few katas. Or breathing. Or whatever bending they did.

Jet came out to watch once they locked the door and was very thankful there were no customers around because there was no way he could go back to work after this. Zuko was shirtless and sweat was dripping down his toned muscles. Of course Jet had seen all of Zuko and knew how fit he was. It was different seeing him after bending. 

Zuko looked towards Jet with a smile and Jet felt his resolve break. Zuko looked so amazing right then. So perfect. 

Before Zuko could blink, Jet stood in front of Zuko and pressed their lips together. He pushed himself against Zuko more and more as he kissed him more. Jet needed Zuko, all of Zuko, at that moment. He was in desperate need to Zuko. (Zuko wasn’t the only one desperate for that dick.) Jet pushed Zuko against the wall and while it might not have been the best decision to be so needy with the Avatar’s group there or so close to new neighbors but Jet didn’t care. His hands slide down Zuko’s pants, desperate for what he wanted. Zuko let out a moan as Jet’s hand came in contact with hm, which made Jet want Zuko even more.

And then everything was ruined when the ground split them apart.

“You idiots don’t listen to anything when your dicks are talking.” Toph said, still in a bending position. “We’ve been calling you two and almost got Uncle.”

Jet looked around and saw Katara rolling her eyes, Aang blushing and looking away, and Sokka blinking at Zuko. A quick glance between Zuko and himself showed they had issues they needed to take care of. 

“Sorry about that.” Zuko cleared his throat and grabbed his tunic. “Thank you for not getting Uncle. I’d rather not have to listen to one of his talks again.”

“Remember that this blind girl can see everything with her feet.” Toph said as she stepped next to Zuko and poked him in his chest with each word. “Your heartbeat, your movements-everything.”

Zuko turned a bright shade of red as the implication of her words hit Jet and no doubt Zuko. Not that it mattered to Jet. He was used to living with a bunch of kids who had no boundaries. “I’ll... um... I’ll remember that.” Zuko mumbled.

“Sorry about that Toph.” Jet said. “We’ll try to be more careful.” He meant that, he did, but there were pressing issues at the moment he had to deal with. “We’ll see you later.” Jet grabbed Zuko’s hand and ran up to their room, ignoring Zuko’s protests along the way. They hadn’t even made it in their room all the way before their clothes were off. Distantly, Jet wondered if Toph could feel through a building with wood or not. If she was, she was in for a show. (He would apologize later.) 

~~~~

Zuko was enjoying his mornings with Aang. It was nice to have a student he could teach, even if Zuko wasn’t that good of a firebender. Aang was nervous about starting so Zuko started with breathing exercises and meditation. He showed Aang a few katas without fire to get him used to the movements. (He wasn’t stupid enough to think he could do actual firebending in Ba Sing Se. No matter how much the Dai Li insisted, war was everywhere.)

It was about a week into their sessions that Aang said they were going to leave for a few days. Not all of them-Katara would still be there. Aang had to meet with a Guru, Sokka was headed to Chameleon Bay, and Toph was meeting her parents. Zuko tried to ignore the sting of pain hearing how they were going to reunite with family when he couldn’t even see his home or family without a death threat. 

Zuko offered Katara to come over to teashop whenever she felt like it so she wouldn’t be lonely. Uncle would make sure she had plenty of food and tea. And she could be in the company of friends. Or somewhat friends. Or whatever she wanted to call them. She, at least, smiled at his stumbling. 

The next couple days seemed to pass by uneventful. Katara came by in the evening and sat and talked with them. She told them about an invasion plan and he told her of secret passageways throughout the Palace he remembered. He could tell she was still hesitant about telling him information but he wanted to be completely honest with her. If he didn’t hold anything back, maybe she would trust him more. 

It was the second day in the evening they had received a summons. The Earth King invited them to serve tea. It was a great honor for Uncle. Zuko was so happy for him. Since they still had to run a teashop, it was decided Longshot would stay behind to brew the tea and Smellerbee would serve at the shop while Zuko, Jet, and Uncle would serve the tea in the morning. Zuko wished Katara had been there when the summons came so she could share in the joy and perhaps make a tea suggestion. 

In the morning, the three of them arrived early in their best dressed tea server outfits. Zuko grabbed Jet’s hand and squeezed it in his nervousness. He didn’t want to be a tea server for the rest of his life but this was Uncle’s dream. He would do whatever it took to make Uncle’s dreams come true. 

As time went on, Zuko became more nervous but for a different reason. Something wasn’t right. He didn’t know what though. After Lake Laogai, Sokka said things were going well for them. There shouldn’t be any problems. And yet...

“Uncle...” Zuko whispered.

“I know.” He sighed. “I don’t like it either.”

“It’s okay.” Jet said and squeezed his hand. “We can handle it, right?” Jet leaned his head towards Zuko’s until they were touching.

Zuko took comfort in the closeness and gave Jet a quick kiss. “I have you.” Zuko smiled. “I’ll be okay.”

“Oh I rather doubt that.” A new voice entered the room along with Dai Li agents. A voice Zuko hadn’t heard in months and did not want to hear any time soon, no matter how much he might miss his family.

“Azula!” Zuko jumped up, still holding Jet’s hand. He could tell Azula noticed their hands together. “What are you doing here?” Jet stood next to Zuko and gave him a squeeze. Jet must have known Zuko needed encouragement.

“I was here to take over Ba Sing Se but it appears I should have taken a closer interest in my brother’s activities. Father would be so disappointed.” 

“Father is always disappointed in me.” Zuko rolled his eyes. “That’s nothing new.”

“Azula, what do you want?” Uncle asked and stepped closer to Zuko and Jet. Zuko felt a sense of comfort being close to Uncle and Jet.

“I’m here to tie up loose ends.” Azula looked at her nails as the Dai Li stepped closer. “Eliminate traitors to the Fire Nation such as the two of you.”

Uncle hummed and took a sip of his tea. Zuko grabbed Jet and bent down as Uncle blasted out fire from his mouth all around them. With the Dai Li and Azula distracted, Zuko grabbed Jet and ran out the room, Uncle following close behind. They turned down a hallway and Zuko noticed a window at the end. He turned to make sure Uncle and Jet were following him towards the window. Once they caught up with him, he had Uncle jump through the window first. He didn’t doubt Uncle could fit, but he wanted to make sure. Not to mention, he didn’t want Uncle to be the last one out.

Jet was climbing through the window while Zuko was on the lookout when rock hands came flying towards them. Zuko used a fireblast to make them disappear into dust. Rock hands grabbed at his feet while he was distracted and he almost lost his balance and fell. He knew he wasn’t going to make it out when his sister walked down the hallway.

“Zuko!” Jet cried out, halfway in the building. He was ready to come back in and fight with Zuko. 

“Jet no!” Zuko yelled, making Jet pause. “Go with Uncle.” He pleaded. Jet looked at him and Azula and shook his head. “Go! Uncle will know what to do.” Jet shook his head and leaned closer back into the building. Zuko saw the Dai Li ready to take them both. While he was still able to move his arms, he brought a wall of fire up, blocking Jet. “Run Jet!” He cried out as rock hands grabbed at his arms, his legs, his torso, and any open area. He was pinned against the wall but Jet was gone. 

“You really are stupid. What did you hope that would accomplish?” Azula snarled. 

“He’s not in your grasp.” Zuko felt a small sense of pride in that. If Azula got her hands on Jet, she could make Zuko do anything she wanted. He didn’t know if she knew that or not. 

“You’re disgusting. A traitor to your nation. A criminal in every filthy way. Mother would be ashamed to call you her son.” She sneered and gestured to the Dai Li.

Before Zuko could even process her words, he felt the rock shift around him. He could see the ground coming to meet him yet didn’t even register hitting the floor. Darkness hit before his knees touched the ground, before his body realized he was falling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since Ba Sing Se was supposed to be completed in this chapter, I’m hoping to have that within a few days. Just depends on how much my action scenes suck. 😂


	10. Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ba Sing Se falls to the hands of the enemy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not gonna lie, this was rough. The fighting was harder than expected and Jet wants me to add certain things which I gotta listen to. But new POV!! Yay! I’ve mostly done Jet and Zuko lately but they got someone else now.
> 
> Warnings for fighting/injury, homophobia, and um... I can’t remember... 😂 But the homophobia isn’t much, I don’t think. I hate having it in here so I try not to do too much. 
> 
> There are probably mistakes in here cause I was going too fast. Besides the medical inaccuracies that is.
> 
> Is it weird I have the title from a nursery rhyme? It sorta goes...

Jet was not happy. He was supposed to spend time with his boyfriend and Uncle to serve tea to the King. Instead, they got crazy blue fire attacking them. Who apparently was Zuko’s sister. And wanted him dead. Now Uncle and Jet were running from the Palace while Zuko, the stupid self sacrificing idiot, stayed behind to protect them. 

“Uncle, Azula won’t really kill Zuko, would she?” Jet stopped running for a moment as he asked his question. He hoped she wouldn’t, but he didn’t know her except what Zuko told him. If so, he would have to go back and fight her himself, swords or no swords.

“No, not at first.” Uncle sighed. “There’s a system and she’s particular about following orders. Zuko would have to go back to the Fire Nation, be tried by the Firelord, who would then pass judgement.”

Jet knew what that judgement would be. If he had no problem burning his kid, he wouldn’t have a problem killing him. “As long as we get him before he leaves Ba Sing Se, we should be good.”

“I have a feeling Azula is setting up to stage a coup to overthrow the Earth King, if she hasn’t taken Ba Sing Se already. If we can get Zuko and the Avatar, we might stand a chance against her.”

“Fine. We need to go back and get Smellerbee and Longshot. They can help. Plus, I’m getting my swords.” Jet started walking back towards their apartment, hoping Uncle was following him. “After that, we’ll go to Aang’s house.”

“And what should we do about the Dai Li? Or how to find out where they took Zuko?” Uncle grabbed Jet’s arm, holding him back from going too far.

Jet turned around and stood close to Uncle. “I think the famous Dragon of the West can figure that part out.” Jet whispered, smirking at Uncle’s expression.

“Did Zuko tell you?”

“Not exactly.” Jet shrugged. “He mentioned you were a General and you aren’t the same you used to be. But I also knew the Dragon was a Prince. I connected the dots.”

“Ah. I see.” Uncle rubbed his beard. “And you are okay with this?”

Jet turned his face away and sighed. He wasn’t ready for this conversation. “I don’t know how I feel about that. I don’t like what you did, who you were. Zuko says you have changed since then. You’re not the same you once were. I trust Zuko. I love him. So if he says you’ve changed, I’ll listen to him. I won’t hold who you were against you.”

“I see. Thank you for your honesty.” Uncle smiled. “It warns my heart to hear you love my nephew.”

“What? Love? I didn’t say love!” Jet stumbled back a couple steps. He didn’t realize he let it slip how he felt or that Uncle was so observant he noticed it.

“I do believe you said you love Zuko.” Uncle pulled Jet in for a hug. “I believe he loves you as well.”

“Just...” Jet sighed and wrapped his arms around Uncle, settling into the hug. “Just don’t tell him. I haven’t told him yet.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say a word.” Uncle pulled away from the hug and patted Jet on the cheek. “Your secret is safe with me.”

~~~~

Katara paced back and forth in the caves. There was plenty of room to walk around but she didn’t want to go too far. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt the need to stay close to the entrance. Even if she couldn’t escape through it.

“You’ve got a guest.” A Dai Li agent said as he opened the entrance. He pushed a body down, laughing as he closed the entrance back up.

Katara ran over and saw it was Zuko. He wasn’t awake but she had no water to heal any injuries. She did a quick glance around to see if there was anything that stood out to her. Besides a few bruises, she didn’t notice anything. She checked his head to make sure it wasn’t bleeding and she heard him moan. At least it seemed like a mild concussion.

“Zuko? Zuko, can you hear me?” She asked as he started to move. “Zuko?”

“Five more minutes.” He mumbled.

“Zuko? Are you okay?”

“Jet?” Zuko blinked his eyes a few times, focusing on Katara. “You’re not Jet.” He frowned.

“I’m not.” She helped him sit up, his back against the stone wall. “How are you feeling?”

“Like an idiot.” He groaned and placed his head in his hands.

“Why would you think that?”

He shrugged. “My sister is here. I thought things were looking up. Guess I was wrong.”

“It happens.” She shrugged. “Sokka always says things are going too well for us.” She slide down next to Zuko. “Don’t let this setback hold you back.”

Zuko snorted. “You sound like Uncle.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She smiled. “I happen to think Uncle gives great advice.”

“He does.”

“However, as a healer, I need to know how you are feeling.” She glared at him. He opened his mouth to speak and she cut him off. “And be honest. None of this ‘I’m fine’ crap when you’re not fine.” She finished and watched as he closed his mouth, no doubt ready to say he was fine.

He sighed. “A little sore. Maybe a headache. I think I was hit on my head so it would explain that.”

“I don’t have any water on me, otherwise I’d heal your head.”

“It’s okay, it’s not the worst thing I’ve had to deal with.”

“No, that’s probably putting up with Jet.” She smirked. 

“Hey! What is it with everyone hating on him? He’s not bad.”

She laughed. “He chews on his wheat like he needs it to survive.” 

“Maybe... he does.” He sputtered, which cause her to laugh harder.

“He is a good kisser.”

Zuko blushed. “He is. A very good kisser. And...” Zuko glanced over at her and looked away. “Yeah. A good kisser.”

She was not going to think about what else Zuko was going to say. “He seems to have changed a lot from when we first met him. He hated Fire Nation.”

“I know. We’ve talked a lot about it. When I first told him, he freaked out.” He pulled his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on his knees. “I thought I lost him. I was afraid and not because he could turn us in. I was afraid he wouldn’t come back.”

“He did though, right?”

“Yeah. He did. He’s changed me too. I never thought I’d be in a relationship with a guy. It’s not just frowned upon in the Fire Nation, it’s illegal. I love him though. I would do anything to protect him.”

“You love him?” She smiled at his admission.

“I do.” He gave a small smile. “I haven’t told him yet but I do.”

She leaned back and let his words sink in. Of all the people together, she never would have imagined Zuko and Jet together. Two opposites fallen in love. “What’s it like?”

“What?”

“Love. What’s it like?” 

~~~~

Jet managed to grab his swords, Zuko’s swords, and a few items should they have to leave suddenly. He hoped they wouldn’t have to but he grew up enough on the road to know to always be prepared. A changed of clothes, some food for a couple days, and whatever money they had saved. It didn’t take much for Smellerbee and Longshot to get ready either. 

After they were ready, the four of them headed towards Aang’s house. Along the way, Uncle managed to find a Dai Li agent. He snuck away, tied up said agent, and dragged him back. Uncle was smiling and the agent was shaking, fear evident in his eyes. Jet raised an eyebrow at Uncle but said nothing. If Uncle wanted to go all Dragon on an agent to get information, he would not stop that.

Besides the agent Uncle had, they didn’t come in contact with any other Dai Li. Longshot even kept an eye on the rooftops and nothing. Jet wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not. Still, they arrived at Aang’s house with no problems. 

Jet pounded on Aang’s door until Toph opened it. Sokka gave Jet a glare at the constant pounding but Jet didn’t care. He had to save his boyfriend. “We need your help.” Jet said, ignoring the normal greetings.

“Well hello to you too.” Sokka rolled his eyes.

“What’s wrong Jet?” Aang asked, ever the peacemaker.

“Azula is here. She has Zuko. She’s taken control of the Dai Li.” Jet hoped that would get their help. 

“That must be where Katara is!” Sokka exclaimed.

“What? Katara?” Jet was... confused.

“I had a vision Katara was in trouble. We came back and she’s not here. She’s not anywhere. The Dai Li must have her if Azula is in charge.” Aang said and Jet was reminded Aang might be a kid but he was also the Avatar.

“That’s just great!” Sokka sighed. “We get rid of Long Feng and Azula takes over. How are we going to find Zuko and Katara?”

“Uncle might have someone to help.” Jet turned to Uncle who had that big, creepy smile. 

Uncle led them to the agent who was tied up on the porch, being watched over by Smellerbee and Longshot. It didn’t take any persuasion to convince the agent to talk and tell them exactly where Zuko was being held. And that Azula was going to stage a coup.

“Okay, so we split up to cover more ground. Aang and Iroh find Zuko and Katara. The rest of us will try to stop the coup.” Sokka said.

“No.” Jet frowned. “I’m going with Aang and Uncle. If they’re going for Zuko, I’m going with them. The rest of you can go after whoever you want but I’m going to go find Zuko.” Jet narrowed his eyes at Sokka, daring him to say anything about that.

“Fine.” Sokka rolled his eyes. “I’m sure he’ll be fine without you but go.”

“Good.” Jet nodded, satisfied. “We brought a few things with us we can put on Appa for now.”

“On Appa?! What do you think is going to happen?” Sokka waved his arms around. 

“I don’t know!” Jet yelled. “I’m being prepared in case things don’t go in our favor and we have to flee. That’s what happens when you live on the run.”

“Okay, okay, I understand.” Sokka sighed. “That’s actually pretty good idea. I guess we should do that too.”

~~~~

Zuko and Katara spent the time talking to each other about Jet and Aang. Mostly, what Jet was like when Katara met him, what he was like when Zuko met him, and what they thought of him. Then about Aang and his training. How he was trained in waterbending and how Toph trained him and any exposure to firebending. Which Zuko was going to have to work with as Aang had been nervous about the prospect of firebending. 

It was sometime after that conversation, the walls began to shake and bust open. Zuko wasn’t sure if it was the Dai Li again or not until the dust settled and Aang, Uncle, and Jet stood there.

“Aang!” Katara cried out as she ran to hug him.

Zuko ran to Uncle and hugged him, thankful he was safe. He then hugged Jet and kissed him. “You’re okay.” He smiled and kissed Jet again.

“Of course I’m okay you big idiot.” Jet slapped Zuko then kissed him. “You’re the one who left me.” Another slap. “Decided to get yourself captured by your sister.” A kiss. “Make Uncle and I worry like that.”

“Okay! Okay! Sorry!” Zuko grabbed Jet’s hands so he couldn’t slap him anymore. Zuko also pretended he didn’t hear Uncle chuckling. “I didn’t want you to worry. I wanted to protect you.”

“Not that this isn’t fun, but maybe we should be leaving before Azula comes back.” Katara interrupted. Which wasn’t too bad because Zuko had a feeling Jet would slap him again.

“Right.... We... we should go.” Zuko followed the rest of them as they led the way out. He held onto one of Jet’s hands as they ran, afraid to let him go. The two of them were in the back, Zuko ready to attack should the need arise.

When they arrived in a cavern with a waterfall and river, Zuko felt the sense of flames in the area. It wasn’t him or Uncle so that left Azula. He stopped running and looked around and noticed her behind him. He saw her right as she was throwing a fire blast in their direction. He was able to disperse it so it didn’t hit anyone, thankful he looked back when he did.

“How nice of you Zuzu. You brought me the Avatar and Uncle.” Azula smirked.

“Give up Azula.” Zuko stepped closer to Azula, blocking Aang and Uncle from her view. “You’re outnumbered. No matter how good you are, you’re no match for all of us.”

“Oh Zuzu. I forgot how stupid you are.”

“Hey! He’s not stupid!” Jet yelled and walked up next to Zuko. He grabbed Zuko’s hand and squeezed it. 

Azula narrowed her eyes at Zuko, glancing down at their hands interlocking, before blinking away her expression. “He would have to be stupid to forget the Dai Li. The same ones that captured him.” As she spoke, Dai Li agents came out, surrounding them. They stood by the exits and on the cliffs. “You’re surrounded. It won’t be long before I’ll have you all. Even if there was a possibility of you living the rest of your days in prison as a banished traitor, you ruined it. You know what the punishment is for your kind.” She sneered. “Father would never allow you to live. Then again, maybe he’ll make you watch as we take care of your... friend first.”

“You will not touch him!” Zuko snarled.

It seemed to happen all at once after that. Dai Li started attacking the group, Aang blocked what he could, Katara send ice daggers at Dai Li, Jet used his hook swords to knock the earth away and fight Dai Li, and Uncle used his firebending to attack the Dai Li. At the same time, Azula and Zuko were throwing fire blasts at each other. Even though Azula had always been the better bender, Zuko was able to get a few decent shots in. Nothing that actually hit his sister, but a few blasts that pushed her back. He used his fire whips to try to try to push her back further but that only seemed to anger her. She dispelled the whips with a wave of fire. He created a huge ball of fire and blasted it in her direction. It was headed to her with no way of her able to block all of it when a wall of earth was brought up in front of her. Two Dai Li agents stood next to her as the wall went down. She smirked at him as the agents started attacking him and she was able to slip away.

Zuko had to dodge and weave as the agents threw earth and stone at him. He was thankful they didn’t try to cover his feet. Since he had to act fast before they thought of that, he sent fire blast after fire blast towards the two agents. The earth was broken apart in the fire. The one agent stumbled backwards and Zuko rushed at both agents to push them over themselves. He kicked fire towards them which knocked them over even more. Another couple blasts and some earth from the cliffs above fell down on top of them. It didn’t kill them, but knocked them out.

After knocking the two agents out, he looked around and saw the group holding steady but not making progress. He noticed Azula fighting Katara, pushing her against the crystal geminates and surrounding her with agents. Aang was blocking himself in crystal geminates and Zuko wondered if he was going to go to the Avatar State. 

Azula must have noticed Aang hiding as well since she pulled back from Katara. Zuko felt the electricity change in the atmosphere and knew she was going to use lightning. He had to block the lightning before it was too late. Zuko ran towards his sister, ignoring Uncle and Jet calling his name. He made it in between Aang and Azula before she shot her lightning. He remembered to ground himself as the lightning shot from Azula’s fingers. He grabbed it, let it travel his body through his stomach, and shot it out towards the ceiling. Earth crumbled down, blocking some of the agents. For a brief moment, he enjoyed the shock on his sister’s face. 

The moment was up when he felt himself being slammed by rock. He felt his body push back to the wall and the rock push further towards him, squeezing him in. He was too pinned down to use his firebending. Even if he wasn’t, it was becoming harder to breathe with the rock crushing him. He was afraid bones were breaking. As much as he wanted to move and escape, he couldn’t even breathe. Rock was surrounding him, enclosing him. He suddenly felt sorry for Uncle who would lose another son in the same city. He wondered if it would be the same way-crushed to death. As bones were crushing, he felt darkness around him and he couldn’t stop it.

~~~~

Jet saw Zuko run in front of Aang and cried out his name. He didn’t know what he was doing but knew it was something stupid. When Azula shot lightning, he panicked. Even more when Zuko was stupid and had to catch the lightning. His idiotic, amazing boyfriend was catching lightning. He was going to get himself killed!

Somehow, by some miracle, he didn’t die. Instead, he shot that lightning back towards the enemy. His boyfriend redirected the lightning! Jet didn’t know how he did that, but he was thrilled he was safe. (He would have to talk to his boyfriend about doing something that scary later on.) 

No sooner had Jet seen Zuko was safe, did an agent push a block of earth at Zuko, squeezing him against the wall. Jet had to save his boyfriend! He was being crushed and Jet couldn’t deal with not being able to do anything to save him. 

He rushed towards the Dai Li that was pushing the earth but was blocked by another agent. Fueled by rage and protectiveness, he used his swords to attack the agent. In a few short swings, he was able to knock out the agent. He rushed to the one hurting his man, and sliced at the agent. He sliced and cut at his hands for being the hands hurting his man. He swung his swords around at the agent, not caring how much damage he caused. The agent hurt his man, he would hurt the agent.

Once his blind rage was calmed and the agent injured, Jet turned his attention to Zuko. The earth was still blocking Zuko, crushing him. Jet struggled trying to remove it by himself. The stone started to give way and he noticed Uncle helping him remove the stone. Laying in between the wall and stone was a bruised and beaten Zuko. A Zuko who was not waking ups

“No, no, no! Zuko!” Jet grabbed a hold of Zuko. He needed a healer. Zuko needed a healer. “Katara!!” Jet cried out, not even sure where she was. “Katara!”

~~~~

Katara was surrounded by agents but she wasn’t going to go down without a fight. She felt the surge of electricity and saw Azula shot lightning towards Aang. Her heart stopped thinking this would be the end for them. But then Zuko grabbed the lightning and redirected it. Right after, Aang entered the Avatar State and pushed all the agents back. Things seemed to be looking up. The agents she was fighting were pushed back-maybe a little too far and a little too rough. (She would worry about that later.)

Just when she thought things were looking up, she heard Jet scream her name in desperation. She looked to where he was and saw him holding an unconscious Zuko. Iroh was kneeling down next to Zuko, holding his hand. Even from where she was, she could tell Zuko was not looking too well. 

“Katara! Please!” Jet cried. 

“I’m here. I’m here.” She said as she ran next to him. “It’ll be okay. I’m here.” She spoke in a calm voice to reassure him. Using her waterbending, she looked at his injuries. It was bad. Very bad.

“Will he be okay?” Jet asked, holding onto Zuko.

She didn’t want to lie but she didn’t want to tell him the truth. If she didn’t heal him using Spirit Water, he may not survive. He still may not survive. She glanced at Iroh who seemed to understand the situation. He placed his hand over hers and gave a small smile. “He’s not doing so good. I have to heal him.”

“You’ll need to leave.” Iroh said. 

She took a moment to look around them. Aang was out of the Avatar State and standing next to them. Azula and a few Dai Li were starting to get back up and ready for a fight. They were still slow about moving but if Katara wanted to heal Zuko, they would all have to leave now. 

“What? Leave?! We can’t!” Jet protested.

“We have to.” Katara sighed. “It’ll take time to heal Zuko and I don’t think we’ll have the time here. I need to heal him now or I won’t be able to. We need to go to save his life.”

“You must go. I’ll provide cover for you.” Iroh placed a hand on her and Jet’s shoulders.

~~~~

“Uncle! No!” Jet pushed Uncle’s hand away. “You have to come with us. Zuko won’t want you to stay.”

“I know. But there is no other way. If you don’t leave now, you’ll have to fight the Dai Li all over again and you risk not saving Zuko. Even if Miss Katara heals Zuko here, we would be down two fighters and possibly a third one if you were protecting them. We won’t win. You must protect my boy. You must save my boy. Please.” Uncle begged, tears in his eyes.

As much as Jet did not want to, he knew he had to agree. Uncle made sense. Zuko would be furious that Uncle stayed, but Uncle made sense. “Fine.” Jet nodded. “Katara, can you and Aang get us out of here? I’ll carry Zuko.”

“Of course.” She offered a smile but he didn’t care. She gave a hug to Uncle and told him to be careful. Not that it would matter since he would be arrested.

As they were exiting through the waterfall, fire and earth were being blasted in their direction but a huge wall of fire stopped it all. Jet knew it wouldn’t last long as it was too powerful to keep going for long. It wasn’t meant to last. It was meant to distract. The last thing Jet saw before they left the cavern was Uncle putting down his wall of fire and Dai Li encasing him in crystal, arresting him. Jet pretended he didn’t know why his eyes were wet, but that was a lie. His family was breaking up again. He was breaking up Zuko’s family.

Once they were on the surface, they met up with the rest of their group and got on Appa. Thanks to Aang, Jet was able to get Zuko up there safely. Toph held onto one of Zuko’s hands while Jet had Zuko’s head in his lap. It seemed a tight squeeze with everyone plus a bear and a King (whatever that was about) and Zuko laying out but Jet didn’t care. Zuko was more important.

Katara pulled out her necklace and used the water inside to work on Zuko. “This is Spirit Water. With it, I should be able to heal him.” She explained as she worked on him.

“Will he survive?” He asked. He waited for an answer that never came. “How bad was it?” She glanced at him and looked back down at Zuko. He didn’t like the lack of answers she was given. It meant things were bad.

“He’s still breathing.” Toph whispered. “I can feel his heartbeat.”

Jet was thankful for her. He wondered why she grabbed Zuko’s hand but now he understood. It was to feel for Zuko. “And if you can’t feel it anymore?” 

“Katara’s a good healer.” Toph said instead. “Sparky will be fine.”

Jet didn’t like the non-answers he got. He wanted to know how Zuko was. How he would be. 

He felt a hand on his shoulder. Turning around he saw Longshot. _It’ll be okay_ , Longshot was saying. _It’ll be okay_. Jet had a hard time believing it but knew he was right. Longshot was always right.

It’ll be okay.


End file.
